


Power

by captain_kriegy



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, Gymnastics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-10
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-05-19 14:06:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5969803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_kriegy/pseuds/captain_kriegy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the story of a gymnastics power couple, as they navigate their Olympic dreams, long distance relationship, and teenage life. </p><p>or, the kress gymnastics au.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Youngins

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Welcome to my Kress gymnastics au! It's going to be a few chapters, but not very long! I'm excited to share this with you, as a Qualifiers present! Thanks and have fun! :P

        They first meet at thirteen. Ali is an upcoming star from the east coast, and Christen was from the west coast. They had heard of each other, naturally, both being competitive on the national stage and the same age. Ali had seen videos of Christen, specifically on bars and beam. Her coach would make her watch it and tell her to make her form just like that. Ali watched, and tried to get better. Christen had watched Ali’s power, and had even tried to attempt some of the vaults she saw her do over video, falling and messing it up each time. Her coach said he “admired her ambition.”

         They meet the day before the competition, in the hotel lobby. The competition is in Texas, and they happened to arrive around the same time. Ali yawned, tugged her warm up jacket on her shoulders and held her stuffed bear under her arm as her mom checked them in. Christen arrives while she is standing there, scrolling through her phone and thinking about her routines. They caught eyes across the room, and Ali blushed, not wanting to look like a fangirl. Christen, however, had no such fear. She walks right up to Ali, smiling and moving in for the hug.   
  
“You’re Ali, right? Ali Krieger? I’m Christen Press, I’m so excited to finally meet you!” Ali beams, hugging Christen back.   
  
“It’s so nice to meet you, too. Your form is absolutely incredible, I admire you so much. My coach is always making me watch videos of you,” Ali teases.

“Same here though! I tried your vault, once, and fell on my face. I can’t believe you do that! You vault like a seventeen year old!” Ali chuckles and blushes.

“Thanks. I’m excited for tomorrow!” Ali’s mom then comes back over, done checking in, and Ali gives Christen one last smile before she left. Christen would likely be one of her biggest competitors tomorrow, and she knew that. But she couldn’t help but admire her.

           Vault is first. Ali can’t help but admit that she’s nervous, but she sprints into it, and the second her hands hit, she knows she can do it. She lands almost perfectly, a huge smile on her face. It was her first Nationals, and she’d nailed her first event. She was competing against older girls, so she knew she couldn’t expect much. But her score is better than she could’ve hoped, and she realizes she can vault with the best of them. She earns the fourth highest vault score.

          Christen lays down a ridiculous beam performance, and ends up with the third highest score on beam at the competition. She’s also fifth on bars. Ali kills the floor routine, finishing third overall in floor. When all the numbers are added up, Ali finishes eighth and Christen tenth. There are two thirteen year olds in the top ten. They get everyone’s attention.

          _Who to Look Out For: Thirteen year olds Ali Krieger and Christen Press blew everyone away at Nationals. Krieger and Press’ performances remind us that there is a lot of talent in the youth. Krieger’s vault and floor skills combined with Press’ form on bars and beam make them a dynamic duo whom will surely continue to aid the U.S. throughout the next few years. Neither of them will move on to Worlds, after finishing eighth (Krieger) and tenth (Press), but for the youngest competitors to make Nationals and first-timers, their performances were equally impressive. With three more years until the Olympics, both of these ladies certainly have a chance at taking spots. What’s even more impressive is how much they impress and inspire each other- Krieger calling Press “a unique breed” with “form few ever accomplish,” and Press insisting that Krieger “takes the sport to another level.” They know it, and now it’s time for us to face it: Krieger and Press are the future of U.S Women’s Gymnastics._

          They exchanged phone numbers at Nationals that year, as Ali stretched her hamstrings and Christen ices a sore ankle. They start talking about things other than gymnastics; Christen’s dogs, Ali’s brother. Then they started talking about more serious things, the way they missed all the “normal” school stuff, how they were nervous for high school, how they were giving up everything for their sport. Ali was still attempting to handle public school. Christen was going to be homeschooled for high school. They exchange snapchats because Ali wants to see all of Christen’s stories, which she had been promised would almost always include her dogs. They hug again, and go their separate ways.

          Ali had always loved making new friends. Real friends were hard to come by in her world. School friends felt fake. She rarely saw them, and when she did, it was in the confines of a classroom or library. They didn’t seem to care about her gymnastics prowess. Her gymnastic friends were also her competitors. It made things hard. Christen, too, was her competitor, Ali reminded herself. Somehow it felt different. Ali was miles ahead of anyone she trained with in Virginia. But Christen was on her level. Christen understood her. Christen was fierce and incredible but she was adorable and loved talking about dogs. There was something different about her budding friendship with Christen and she was thrilled about it.

            Two years later, they’re at the point where rosters for the Olympics are being developed. Ali and Christen dream of being on the roster together. They live in different time zones, but somehow, they manage to talk all the time. Ali asks for tips when she can’t seem to get something right. Christen does the same. They respect each other unlike they’ve ever respected another gymnast their own age. They’re both fifteen, and Ali knows they have a chance. If they both killed it at Nationals, they could do it. They were both on fire. Christen was nursing a small foot injury, but she seemed like she would be back on target. Ali was nursing her right knee, which was never good to her, but she felt incredibly strong. She’d dropped out of public school, claiming that the hours didn’t let her train enough. That was certainly most of the reason why. But the boys started looking at her weird as she gained muscle, starting telling her they liked to watch her gymnastics videos because she looked hot in a leotard. Once, she let one of them kiss her in the back of the library, but when he reached under her shirt, she pulled away and wiped her mouth. He was cute, but she was focused. She couldn’t waste her time on boys.

           Ali and Christen went to Worlds together for the first time that year, after stellar performances at Nationals. They were on a U.S team with some of the greats of the sport, Heather O’Reilly, Abby Wambach, Christie Rampone, and other younger players, Becky Sauerbrunn and Alex Morgan. With seven players on the team and only two per event, they knew everyone might not be needed. The team ended up using Ali for floor and Christen for beam. HAO competed vault and floor, Abby vault and bars, Christie beam, and Alex bars. Becky was supposed to compete bars, but she injuries her foot the day before the competition and is replaced by Abby. Christen and Ali both make a name for themselves at their first Worlds, not only taking away a team gold, but also finishing second on beam (Christen) and third on floor (Ali). They showed that the youth of the U.S. team could compete with the veterans. They take selfies with their medals and stretch each other, happy tears running down their faces. They were less than a year from when the Olympic roster would be decided, and they had both won medals at Worlds. Abby and Christie had announced their retirements. They had a shot at the five person roster that would go to the Olympics, and they both knew it.

         That year, Ali visits Christen in California. For her sixteenth birthday, her parents give her flyer miles to anywhere in the country. She chooses California. She’ll be able to keep training with Christen during her two week vacation. Plus, Christen lives near the beach. Christen comes to pick Ali up from the airport, and Ali jumps into her arms. She was finally getting to see where her best friend lives.

“How are your legs feeling?” Christen asks. “I have a pool at my house, you brought a swimsuit right? We can swim tonight, it’ll be good for your legs.” Ali laughs, and hugs her close.

“Yes, I brought a swimsuit. My legs are great.”

“I’m so excited that you’re here!”

“I’m thrilled!”

          Christen’s house is very different from hers. Ali lives in Virginia, surrounded by grass and hills and very large, slightly rural Victorian homes. She lives a twenty minute drive from the nearest grocery store and the gym she trains at is over an hour away. She’s pretty sure she knows everyone who lives in a twenty mile radius of her. Christen, however, lives in a more urban area of California. There are different Latin American restaurants lining the busy streets, and her house is Spanish style. It’s one story but still quite large. The gym is less than half an hour away. Christen’s a very focused person, but she smiled more than anyone Ali had ever known, whether she was watching television, joking around, or in the gym. She was absolutely uplifting to be around.

         They go for a swim, recovery for Ali’s legs after the long flight, and a chance to just enjoy each other’s company. They talk about their training goals for the week, and what they want to do on their days off. Ali asserts that she really wants to go to the beach, and Christen tells her she wants to take her to a yoga class. They stretch and do their serious recovery, and then Christen playfully splashes Ali with water when Ali makes a joke about giving Christen some tips this week. Ali splashes her back, and it turns into a full on water fight, high-pitched screeches and water in ears included. Ali starts out confident, but ends up being the one to call for a truce when Christen jumps on her back and splashes water at her face. They laugh and cough as they recover.

“Looks like you’re the one who needs tips,” Christen teases as Ali shakes the water out of her ear and sends one last splash of water towards her friend. Ali’s glad she chose to use her flyer miles on this.

        They shower and change and Christen’s parents make dinner. Then they retreat to Christen’s room, and spread out on her queen bed, where they watch _Gossip Girl_ and goof off. They have to leave at 8am for training the next day, so by 11pm, they decide to turn the lights out. They crawl under the covers of Christen’s bed and Ali holds her stuffed bear close.

“Can you believe we both won medals at Worlds?” Christen asks. Ali chuckles. It’s been two months since Worlds, but they’re both still digesting the experience.

“I just can’t believe we got to stand on a podium with Abby Wambach at her last Worlds,” Ali replies, recounting the experience.

“I can’t believe Heather O’Reilly is literally in love with you,” Christen teases. Ali laughs.

“Dave wouldn’t approve of that,” Ali teases in reply. “She’s so nice, though. She taught me so much.”

“I still can’t believe we made that team. Together. There’s nobody I would rather stand on a podium with.”

“Mine would be Abby Wambach,” Ali teases, and Christen slaps her arm lightly.

“I’m trying to compliment you!” Christen replies. Ali laughs, and puts a hand on her arm.

“There’s nobody I would rather stand on a podium with than you.” Christen chuckles.

“You’re gonna teach me how to land blindly on a balance beam this week, right?” Ali asks.

“Only if you teach me how not to fall on my face when I try your vault,” Christen replies.

“Can I watch you? Fall on your face trying to twist two and a half times in the air?”

“Only if you try a blind landing.”

“Okay, this is for fun, not so you can watch me get annihilated by a balance beam. You know, I want to have kids one day,” Ali teases.

“I don’t know if I want to have kids,” Christen replies, quietly. The mood turns serious, and Ali doesn’t know how to respond.

“You seem like you’d be incredible with kids.”

“I want kids, I think. I just don’t know if I want to give birth to them.”

“Hey, that’s okay. I don’t know if I do either, if we’re being honest. I guess I’m a bit more flexible with how my life turns out than other people. I’m open to adoption, no matter who I marry and what’s between their legs. But, I don’t like the idea that adoption is typed as an inferior choice for people who can’t have kids themselves. So I’d like to think that I’ll consider adoption no matter what’s between the legs of the person I love.”

“Are you insinuating that you don’t just like boys?” Ali chuckles at how uncomfortable it is, and is suddenly really glad it’s dark. It makes her feel more comfortable.

“I think I like girls, too. But I don’t know. I just think I don’t need to label my sexuality.”

“How did you know that?”   
  
“That I like girls or that I didn’t want a label?”   
  
“Both,” Christen replies. Ali pauses, holding her stuffed bear close.

“I really liked this girl at my gym, a couple of years ago. And one day, we were the last two left in the locker room, and she kissed me. And that kind of solidified it for me. It didn’t end up working out with her, but she helped me realize that it was okay. Also, my older brother is gay, so he was there for me. And he was the one who reminded me that labels are totally socially constructed, you know? I don’t need one for my sexuality to be valid.” They’re both silent for a few minutes, and Ali worries Christen has fallen asleep.

“You’re really inspiring, Ali.” Christen reaches for her hand, and Ali intertwines them.   
  
“Thanks,” She replies. “It’s been a difficult journey.”

“I get that. I feel like I’m in a place where I just don’t know.”

“Who you like?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s okay. You’re only sixteen. You don’t have to decide.”

“I mean. I think I’m attracted to girls. But I feel like saying that is a lot of commitment, you know?” Ali squeezes her hand.

“You know I’m always here for you. No matter if I’m across the country or if I’m right here next to you.”

         Ali is nervous about training at Christen’s gym during the visit, but she realizes from the moment she walks in that she will love it. She knows Christen’s coach, from competitions over the years, and he embraces her with very literal open arms.

“Ali! What an honor to have you. You have all the instructions from your coach, right?” Ali nods, and pulls out the folder her coach had given her. Every coach does things slightly differently, and though she was looking forward to a new set of eyes on her, she had to make sure she adhered by all the things her coach wanted.

        They spend most of their days at the gym and doing recovery, as is the normal life of an international gymnast. There’s always something to be preparing for; Old routines to be perfected and new ones to be learned. The trainer wraps Christen’s foot and tapes Ali’s knee. Tomorrow is a day off, and they’ll start it with yoga, and then take their beach trip.

“How is it different?” Christen finally asks. “Training here?”

“Besides having someone to show me up constantly?” Ali teases. “It’s similar, but different. Different norms, but a similar environment, I think. I think your coach is awesome with form. He’s been on me since the moment I started,” Ali jokes.

“I love having you here. And not just because you’re my best friend. It’s so nice to train with someone who kicks my ass.”

“Are you excited for me to kick your ass at some beach volleyball tomorrow?”

“Oh, Virginia girl thinks she can play beach volleyball?”

“I played volleyball when I was still in public school. Don’t underestimate me, girl. You know I do gymnastics, right? The sand certainly won’t be a problem,” Ali teases.

“The ego on you,” Christen replies, placing her hand on Ali’s arm. It's oddly intimate and Ali can't help but smile. 


	2. Kiss Me

      Ali and Christen start out playing beach volleyball against each other, one on one, and Ali gets absolutely killed.   
  
“Okay, this isn’t fair. You didn’t tell me you’re practically a beach volleyball professional,” Ali whines as she grabs her water bottle.

“What can I say, I enjoy blindsiding people with my skills.” Two older boys come over to them as they take their water break.

“Hey girls, we were wondering if you wanted to play some 2v2,” The taller guy offers.

“Yeah, we’re down,” Ali replies. She finds she enjoys playing with Christen a hell of a lot more than she likes playing against her. They beat the older boys, who huff and ask if they want to play again.

“Nah, we’re going to go for a swim,” Christen says. “But it was nice to meet you guys.” Their eyes scan their bodies, the girls just in shorts and tank tops over their bathing suits, and Ali rolls her eyes and grabs her belongings.   
  
“They were nice,” Christen insists as they walk away. Ali scoffs.

“They thought we had nice asses,” Ali replies.

“Well, we do,” Christen responds. Ali swats her arm playfully. They venture into the ocean, jumping over waves and laughing at each other. They stare out at how vast the ocean is, just enjoying the moment.

“How old were you when you started realizing this might be possible? Being an international gymnast?”

“I think I’ve dreamed about it since I was ten. But I didn’t start realizing it might be possible for me until my first Nationals. What about you?”  
  
“I never really saw it coming. I knew, logically, that it was a possibility, but until I got onto my first international roster, I didn’t know if it would ever happen. It takes a lot, you know? For a coach to take a chance on a young one, to put someone on their first international roster.”

“What’s your favorite event?” Ali asks.

“Bars. Beam, I love, but it gives me anxiety,” Christen jokes. “You?”

“Floor. I love the performance aspect of it.” Ali replies.

“Hop on my shoulders,” Christen suggests. “You’ll be able to see better.” Ali turns to Christen, realizing she’s looking at her. Ali smiles gratefully, and jumps onto Christen’s shoulders, the taller girl easily gripping her calves and keeping her upright.

“Is it pretty?” Christen asks. Ali looks out at how vast the ocean is, and Christen squeals when a wave almost knocks her off her feet. Ali jumps down, and motions for Christen to jump on her shoulders.

“It’s really pretty,” Christen remarks. Ali starts walking around, and Christen grips Ali’s shoulders.   
  
“Are you trying to knock me off?” Christen asks, and Ali just laughs, heading towards shore with Christen on her shoulders.

“Put me down!!” Christen insists, and Ali laughs, holding onto her tightly as she reaches the shore.   
  
“Alexandra Blaire Krieger!!” Christen starts, and Ali just continues to laugh as she treks through the sand. She sees a couple of people taking pictures of them, and grabs her phone out of her bag, shooting a selfie with Christen on her shoulders before letting her down. She laughs when she looks at the picture; Christen is making an exasperated face, and Ali is smiling widely, both of them covered in water and sand. Christen swats Ali’s arm, and they start playfully wrestling, ending up in the sand, Ali pinning Christen’s arms to the sand, laughing as she holds herself over the taller girl. She finally collapses next to her, and they lay in the sand, recovering their breath and laughing.

“You’re crazy, Kriegs.”

“You started it!” They both laugh, and Christen slowly gets up.

“I don’t think there is an inch of my body that is not covered in sand.” Christen lends a hand to help Ali up, who begrudgingly agrees.

            Once they get back to Christen’s, they attempt to not trail sand all over the house and end up in the shower together, in bathing suits, of course. They try to rinse all of the sand off of themselves, failing miserably.

“There is so much sand in my bathing suit right now,” Ali admits. As soon as they get themselves what they think is close to clean, Ali reaches behind her back to untie her top. It hits the ground of the shower, and Christen’s jaw drops.

“No need to be awkward about it, we all have boobs,” Ali teases, trying to rinse off the sand caked onto her breasts. Christen bites her lip and forces herself not to stare.

“If you want, I can rinse off and then you can have the shower,” Ali offers, turning around so her backside faces Christen as she slides off her bottoms. Christen doesn’t know where the courage comes from, but she pulls off her own top. If Ali’s going to torture her, she’s going to have a little fun in return. She slips off her bottoms and watches as Ali lets the water run over her round butt. She gulps and tears her eyes away as Ali turns to her. Ali raises an eyebrow as she lets her eyes rake down Christen’s naked front side, and then steps out of the shower, winking. Ali towels herself off in the time Christen finishes rinsing and by the time Christen steps out of the shower, Ali has a towel tied around her chest, her wet hair down her back as she headed back to Christen’s room.

“Were you trying to give me an aneurism back there?” Christen jokes later that night. They’re watching another episode of _Gossip Girl_ and getting ready for bed and another long day at the gym.

“Did you expect me to spend the rest of the day with sand in my ass?” Ali asks, laughing. “Not my fault you think I’m hot,” Ali teases. Christen laughs.   
  
“Oh, I think you’re hot, huh?”

“Wouldn’t be giving you an aneurism if I wasn’t hot.”

“You’ve got a nice butt, okay?”

“You were drooling before I got to the bottoms, but whatever you say, Press.” Christen opens her mouth for a comeback, but just laughs instead.

“Alright, you got me, Kriegs. You caught me off guard!”   
  
           Ali posts the picture of them at the beach to Instagram after showing Christen.

“You did it for the Insta, didn’t you?”

“Lies! I saw other people taking pictures of us and I thought it would be a good photo op!”

_alikrieger: fun beach day with @christenpress !!_

_christenpress: had so much fun beating you at beach volleyball :P @alikrieger_

_alikrieger: I’ll never live that down, will I @christenpress ?_

_christenpress: not if I have anything to do with it!! @alikrieger_

            They sleep closer to each other that night, moving closer in their sleep, so when they wake up, they aren’t sleeping on opposite sides of the bed, like they had been every other night since Ali arrived, but they’re cuddling, Ali’s stuffed bear next to Christen’s head on her chest, Ali’s arm wrapped firmly around Christen as her head rests on the taller girl’s. Ali laughs when she wakes up, running a finger through Christen’s hair and reaching over to turn off the alarm. Christen snuggles into her further before opening her eyes and laughing.   
  
“Sorry I kinda stole your personal space,” Christen teases.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Ali teases back. Christen raises an eyebrow as she rolls out of bed and prods towards the bathroom.

“Oh, I’m cute?”

“Just go brush your teeth, Press.”

            The gym is hell that day. They work hard and long hours, and Christen lands awkwardly on her bad foot after a vault that puts her out for almost an hour of practice. Ali has to stop to have her knee retaped after spending almost two hours flipping and practicing her floor routing. Their bodies have taken a beating, and they’re exhausted. They barely talk on the drive back to Christen’s place, just Ali making sure Christen’s foot is okay.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Just acts up when I step wrong on it,” Christen replies. “Like your knee.”

“You worried me there.”

“Beam is usually where I mess it up, but nothing is worse than landing wrong from a vault.”

“Trust me, I know.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you land that wrong from a vault,” Christen teases.

“It took me a long time to learn the vault I do now,” Ali explains. “I was convinced I would never be able to do it. Sometimes I would just not get high enough and end up landing on my stomach trying to get the last twist in. Ugh. It was so bad. My coach was good, though. He told me he knew I could do it, that I needed to get out of my head and pretend it was any other vault. Eventually I got it, and since then it’s been more and and more consistent.”

            They shower (separately, this time) and have dinner before cuddling up in Christen’s bed again. Christen rests her head on Ali’s shoulder, and Ali loosely wraps an arm around her.

“When we first met, I was totally terrified of you. I’d never seen anyone my age flip or vault like that. You were terrifying. But then I walked into the hotel and there you were, yawning and playing with a stuffed animal. It was precious.”

“Oh, so I lost my warrior persona because of Princess?”

“Your stuffed animal is named Princess?” Christen asks, laughing.

“You love it, shut up,” Ali insists. Christen just smiles at her, her widest, most beautiful smile, and nuzzles into her neck.

“You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met, Ali Krieger.” Christen tips her head up to look at her, and Ali’s breath catches in her throat when Christen looks into her eyes.

“Can I?” Christen asks, and Ali doesn’t answer, but instead leans her forehead against Christen’s. The other girl leans in to press their lips together. It’s soft and gentle, their lips massaging each other’s. They pull back to breathe for a second, smiling at each other, and Christen sits up, pulling Ali into her lap. Ali giggles, her breath tickling Christen’s lips as she straddles her hips.   
  
“You’re really beautiful,” Ali tells her, before connecting their lips again. It starts soft and gentle before it turns hungry, Christen opening her mouth and their tongues moving against each other. Ali’s nervous, but tries to stay steady, cupping Christen’s face in her hands as Christen’s hands rest on her hips, holding her close. Ali’s nerves melt away as the kiss continues, it feeling like the most natural thing in the world. They break away to breathe again, and their foreheads press together as they look into each other’s eyes.

“I don’t know what I want out of this,” Christen admits quietly. “But I’ve never met anyone like you.” Ali strokes her cheek with her thumb gently.

“It’s okay,” Ali replies, smiling. “No matter what you want, it’s okay.” Ali swings her leg over and sits back on the bed next to Christen, and the other girl puts her head in Ali’s lap.

“Will you tell me more about the girl from your gym?” Christen asks tentatively. Ali runs a finger through Christen’s hair.

“Yeah, sure. Her name is Jenna. She was eighteen and I was fourteen. We trained together sometimes. She was pretty and I really liked her. I had no idea she was gay or that she knew I liked her. But one day, we were in the locker room alone, stretching out after practice, and she told me she knew I liked her and she asked if she could kiss me. I had no idea what to say, so I kinda just went along with it. That’s kind of as far as it went, though. I told my brother what happened, and he flipped a shit. I thought he was going to deck her, honestly. He drove me to practice the next day and apparently yelled at her for kissing a fourteen year old. Which was fair. I enjoyed it, though, don’t get me wrong. But obviously it wasn’t going to work.”   
  
“That’s really creepy.”

“Yeah. I mean, we trained together all the time, so I guess it just didn’t feel like we were four years apart. In the gym, I was the older one, if that makes sense. I was teaching her things and giving her pointers. It’s not like there was a creepy power dynamic.”

“Still, that’s weird.”

“Agreed. Kyle had a cow.”   
  
“I like Kyle.”

“Eh, he’s alright,” Ali teases in reply.

“So what are we?” Christen asks tentatively, sitting up and cross legged across from Ali.

“We’re whatever you want us to be. I get that a relationship might be a lot, considering the distance and the gymnastics. I’m up for whatever you’re up for.”

“I really like this,” Christen admits. “I really like kissing you.”

“Okay, then let’s do that.”

“Are we exclusive?”

“If you want to be, I’m happy to be. There’s nobody else I’m interested in.”

“Are we together, or are we friends who like to kiss and don’t want other people?” Ali laughs, leaning in to kiss Christen softly.

“We’re whatever you want us to be. If you aren’t sure that you want a relationship, we don’t have to do that. It’s going to be hard with us playing together and the Olympics being next year.”

“But you would want a relationship? If I want it? You would be willing to go along with the hardships of it?”

“Yeah, absolutely. I really like you.” Christen smiles.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” Ali laughs, blushing uncharacteristically.

“Yeah, I’d love to be your girlfriend.”

            They snuggle close that night, on purpose. They spoon, and Christen lets Ali be the big spoon, wrapping her arms around Christen’s waist and kissing the base of her neck. Christen giggles.

“You’re such a sweetheart,” Christen says. “Badass Ali Krieger not only has a stuffed animal she’s holding while she cuddles me, but she also likes to be the big spoon because her heart is full of cheesiness.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Ali teases. “Just wait until Valentine’s day.”

            Christen kisses Ali once in the morning, morning breath be damned, and they head off to the gym. It’s Ali’s last day in California, and she couldn’t be more grateful for her parents’ birthday gift to her. They hug closely in the airport, and Ali kisses Christen’s cheek.

            They learn that being in a long distance relationship sucks. They text and FaceTime and mail each other cute stuff, but they miss each other. They occasionally see each other at competitions, but they have to keep it professional for the most part. They’re in a relationship, but it’s hard. Really hard.

            The next time they really see each other is Nationals that January. It’s going to be one of the last deciding factors in the Olympic roster choices. Ali and Christen are both predicted to have spots on the roster as long as they perform up to their usual standard. They meet up in the hotel the night before, and Christen presses Ali against the door of her room and kisses her deeply. They laugh into each other’s mouths as their hands roam over each other’s torsos.

“Gosh, I missed you,” Christen tells her, and Ali strokes her cheek.

“I missed you too, beautiful. You ready to kick ass tomorrow? I’m not going to Rio alone, okay?” Christen laughs.

“Shut up and kiss me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!! Please let me know what you think :P 
> 
> they're so cute I love them so dearly 
> 
> #kress


	3. With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nationals and Valentines Day, coming right up :P

         Vault is up first. Ali vaults like everyone knows she can, and not at all surprisingly, ends up with the highest vault score. She edges out the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in vault from the U.S., Heather O’Reilly. Kelley O’Hara rounds out the top three, with Christen finishing eighth. Christen pulls through a strong performance on uneven bars, and Ali can’t help but hug her tightly when she comes off the mats. Ali puts in her personal record. The winner on uneven bars is an upcoming superstar named Alex Morgan. Christen finishes second, and Becky Sauerbrunn ends up third. Ali is forth. She doesn’t make the podium, but she couldn’t be prouder. She finished in the top five on uneven bars. 

            Beam is up next. Christen, once again, turns out a fabulous routine, as expected. Ali hangs in there with another solid performance. The winner is a gymnast who was made for the beam, Tobin Heath. Christen comes in second, with Alex Morgan in third. Ali finishes forth again. Ali leads overall as they head into floor, her strongest event. Christen squeezes her tight and tells her just to do what she always does. Heather O’Reilly again puts in a stellar routine, but it’s Alex Morgan who is leading the overall awards when Ali steps onto the floor. At this point, she knows she just needs to not fall and stay in bounds to win. She can practically taste it.

            She’s as nervous as she’s ever been, the idea of finally winning a gold overall at Nationals haunting her. But she performs through her nerves, and turns out a stellar routine. If she's being honest, it wasn't her absolute best, but it was good enough to get her the scores she needed. She wins floor and overall. Heather O’Reilly comes in second on floor, with, yet again, Kelley O’Hara coming in third. Christen is seventh. Ali and Christen hug tightly before the overall awards. They’ll both be on the podium.

            Christen finishes third, with Alex Morgan second, and Ali winning. Christen is Ali’s biggest fan, jumping on her back and celebrating proudly when her girl wins it all. They take pictures with their medals and post them to Instagram.

_alikrieger: Nationals dream come true with bae!! @christenpress_

_christenpress: Couldn’t be more proud of the beautiful @alikrieger for winning overall gold at Nationals today, after taking the highest scores in vault and floor. It was an honor to share the podium with you!_

            HAO is Ali’s second biggest fan, after finishing fifth overall. It’s the first time Ali’s beat out HAO in both floor and vault at the same competition.

“You’re the future, Al. I’m really proud.”

“Thank you for teaching me so much,” Ali replies, hugging her friend.

            Only five people go to the Olympics. Ali and Christen feel fairly confident that they have a shot, but nobody can ever be sure. They sneak off to the pool together that night, stretching and goofing off, capitalizing on the opportunity to be alone.

“What’s your prediction? For the Olympics?” Christen asks. Ali sighs.

“Me, you, Alex, HAO, and either Tobin, KO, or Becky.”

“That’s a cop out, pick one,” Christen teases.

“Okay. Tobin. Even though she’ll only do beam.” KO had taken home two top three finishes, and Becky had been the only participant, besides Ali, to finish in the top five in each event, so saying either of them will be cut is a hard choice.

“So who would you put in each event?”

“Me and HAO vault. You and Alex on bars. You and Tobin on beam. Me and HAO on floor. I love KO and Becks, but there’s no place for them, unless they take me or HAO’s spot on floor or vault.”

“They won’t. You both proved you’re the best choices.” Ali shrugs.   
  
“Weirder things have happened.”

“I was wondering if I could come visit you next month?” Christen asks, hesitant. Ali lights up.   
  
“Really?”

“Yeah. My parents said I could. I was thinking around Valentine’s Day.” Ali smiles widely, and backs Christen up against the wall.   
  
“You want to come see me for Valentine’s day?!”

“Of course. I want to do something sweet and special.”

“I thought I was the sweet one,” Ali teases, placing a hand on Christen’s hip as she moves her face so close their breath intermingles.

“We can both be the sweet one,” Christen replies, and Ali kisses her softly.

“I can’t wait. I need more Christen kisses.”

“Oh, is that all you miss?” Christen teases.

“No, I also love having someone to tell me I’m pretty,” Ali teases back. Christen giggles and pinches Ali’s bare hip, and Ali just leans in to kiss her.

“Yeah, pretty sassy,” Christen replies, slightly breathless when they pull away. Ali kisses across her jaw, and Christen runs her hand up Ali’s bare side. Someone walks into the pool area, and Ali pulls away slightly, not wanting to put on a show for anyone. They turn and see a hesitant, shy looking Alex Morgan.

“Do you guys mind if I join you? Recovery and such,” Alex starts quietly.

“Yeah, no problem,” Ali replies, and they go back to stretching, Alex joining them.

            A few weeks later, they get the call. They’re both on the Olympic roster. The next day, the list comes out.

**_Krieger, Press, Morgan, O’Reilly, and Heath to Represent the U.S in Rio; Sauerbrunn Chosen as Alternate._ **

            _Only one remains from the 2012 team that won it all in London: Heather O’Reilly. O’Reilly (age 20) finished second on vault and floor at Nationals, and ended up fifth overall. Heath (17) joins the roster we assume simply for her prowess on beam, after taking yet another beam high score at this year’s Nationals. Krieger (16) had the best performance we’ve ever seen her have, finishing at the top of vault and floor, and also placing in the top four of beam and bars, winning the overall title. Morgan (15) finished overall second, taking the highest score of the competition on bars and finishing third on beam. Press (16) was third overall, and took home second in both bars and beam. Becky Sauerbrunn (18) was also a standout of this year’s Nationals, impressively finishing in the top five of each event and taking home the bronze on bars. She will be the team’s alternate, in what is a difficult but smart choice: Sauerbrunn can be a suitable replacement for anyone on any event. A true all-around gymnast, Sauerbrunn missing out on the Olympic roster is devastating, but there’s no better alternate. Another disappointing cut is surely Kelley O’Hara. The seventeen year old finished hot on O’Reilly’s heels in both vault and floor. In fact, many predicted O’Hara would replace O’Reilly on this roster, but after O’Reilly stood strong at Nationals, it looks like the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in vault will have one more shot at it. Finally, some thought long-shot fifteen year old Crystal Dunn would have a shot at making the roster, but after a disappointing seventh overall finish at Nationals, she was simply overshadowed by older athletes._

_So who do we think will compete in what team events, and who has the best chance at winning it all individually? Well, if one person from the U.S was to win something individually, it will be Tobin Heath on beam. A truly gifted gymnast, Heath has the ability to beat anyone. But in terms of the best overall gymnast, I’m tempted to say Alex Morgan. After Krieger’s impressive overall win at Nationals, she surely deserves a spot in that conversation, but Morgan is typically known as an all around gymnast, where as Krieger is a vault and floor specialist who is beginning to improve in the other events as well. If I were to choose what events each would be chosen for in the team event, this is how I would choose:_

_Vault: Krieger, O’Reilly_

_Bars: Morgan, Press_

_Beam: Heath, Press_

_Floor: Krieger, O’Reilly_

_I think the biggest question mark is whether Press or Morgan will take that second beam spot. I currently give it to Press, especially after she beat out Morgan at Nationals. That, in my opinion, is the most hotly contested spot._

            Ali and Christen cry over FaceTime to each other, beyond thrilled to see it in words: They’re going to Rio. They text KO their support, sad to see a friend not make it, and touch each other’s faces over the computer screen. Their dreams are coming true.

“I can’t wait to see you next week.”

“Just prepare for Valentine’s day,” Christen teases.

            They argue, albeit playfully, over who gets to plan what for Valentine’s day. Ali gets the daytime, and Christen the evening and night. Ali agonizes over what to do- suburban Virginia isn’t exactly exciting- and convinces her coach to let them have the day off. Ali slides out of bed early, and prods downstairs to the kitchen to make a plate of all-red fruits and berries that she arranges into a heart.

“Is that what gymnasts eat for breakfast on Valentine’s day?” Kyle teases.

“I’m working within a diet constraint and I wanted to go with the color red!”

            She makes coffee for both of them, and brings a tray with the coffee and the heart plate of fruit up to her room.

“Hmm, I thought you ran away,” Christen teases as she sits up in bed. Ali puts the tray down and slides back into bed with her.

“Morning, beautiful,” Ali says, leaning in to kiss her, happy to realize she’s already brushed her teeth. “Happy Valentines day!”

“You’re sweet,” Christen says, and Ali straddles her, kissing her deeply. They kiss for a few minutes, losing themselves in each other, holding each other’s hips, fingers stroking torsos. They break apart when it gets heated, giggling at each other as their foreheads rest together.

“So this isn’t the most delicious breakfast, but I’m working with a diet constraint,” Ali prefaces, reaching over to grab the plate. Christen beams.

“This is so sweet!” Raspberries, strawberries, watermelon, pomegranate, and literally anything red Ali could find in her kitchen (even tomatoes) had made its way onto the plate, and was arranged to create a heart shape. Christen kisses Ali’s cheek and takes a fork. They eat their old arrangement of fruits and hold hands, being their goofy romantic selves. Christen takes a picture of the plate to post on Instagram.

_christenpress: feeling #blessed to be able to spend valentines day with my beautiful girl @alikrieger. miss “i’m working with a diet constraint, okay?” did a great job on breakfast :P <3_

_alikrieger: this is the pinnacle of my creativity. You better feel blessed @christenpress._

_christenpress: oh, you know I do ;) @alikrieger_

“So what are we doing today?” Christen asks as Ali puts the plate on her night table.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Ali teases, straddling Christen once more and kissing her soundly. “First, we kiss.”

“Hmmm, I like that plan,” Christen replies, sliding her tongue into Ali’s mouth. Ali presses her chest to Christen’s, and Christen holds her thighs, pulling her impossibly closer.

“Gosh, you’re incredible,” Ali says, moving to kiss her again, cupping her cheek with one hand and letting the other roam down her side. She runs a finger under her shirt and across the top of the band of her shorts. Christen sighs into her mouth, and runs a finger under the front of Ali’s shirt, stroking her abs. Ali’s abs clench and she moans quietly into Christen’s mouth before rolling off.

“Alright, get ready or we’re going to be late,” Ali insists, getting out of bed.

“Paintball?” Christen asks, laughing as they pull up to the place.

“Mhm,” Ali replies. “I’m going to kick your ass.”   
  
“You say that now, but I have a track record of kicking yours,” Christen teases. It wasn’t necessarily the most romantic of Ali’s ideas, but it was just so them.

            Ali actually backs up her big talk this time, and Ali takes out Christen with a paintball to the arm. They laugh on the way home, holding hands. When they get to a red light, Christen leans over and kisses Ali. Ali then drives them to a park, that Christen quickly realizes isn’t an ordinary park.   
  
“No way!” Christen exclaims, practically jumping out of the car. “A puppy park!” Ali wraps her arms around Christen and kisses her softly.

“I figured we could walk around, maybe go on the swings, and then watch all the puppies?” Christen beams, and they hold hands as they walk around. There are dogs everywhere, and almost everyone there is holding a dog of some sort. They pet dogs, and then just sit on a bench as the dogs play around in the dog park. They go for a walk, and Christen takes a picture of Ali as she stares out at the green grass before them. Ali wears skin tight jeans and a maroon sweater, a black, open sweater over it. She’s breathtaking. Ali giggles when she notices, and they take a picture together, Christen’s arm around Ali’s shoulders, Ali kissing Christen’s cheek. Christen posts the picture of Ali, and lets Ali post the picture of both of them.

_christenpress: valentine’s day with this beauty <3 @alikrieger_

_alikrieger: I’m the luckiest! Such a great day with my girl @christenpress_

            They go on the swings and watch puppies from a distance, Christen fawning over what thinks are the two cutest dogs, and Ali watching Christen be excited.

“You killed it,” Christen announces as she pets yet another dog on the way out. Ali beams.

“I did my best,” Ali replies. “I figured the dogs would be a home run.” They hold hands on the center console as Ali drives them back to her home, and upon arrival, Christen announces that they have two hours until they need to be ready to leave. Ali takes a shower and agonizes over what to wear.

“Nothing too fancy,” Christen insists. Ali wears a dress with a colorful trench coat and a pair of heels, and Christen pushes her up against the wall and kisses her hard before they leave.

“You’re beautiful,” Ali reminds her. They pose for more pictures, because why not be obnoxious on Instagram on Valentine’s Day.

_christenpress: It’s not every day I get to take this beautiful girl out for Valentine’s dinner. Yep, my part of the day starts now ;) @alikrieger_

_alikrieger: should I be excited or scared for @christenpress taking me to dinner? Jokes, jokes. So grateful to be able to share v-day with this one :)_

            Dinner is incredible. They hold hands and laugh and tell stories about all their lame past Valentine’s days. Ali lets Christen drive her car and they go to Ali’s favorite ice cream shop. They go for a walk downtown, where all the bright lights illuminate the trees.

            That night, they exchange cards and presents. Christen buys Ali a new makeup palette, and Ali buys Christen a necklace with a heart charm. They make out with their shirts off for the first time. They’ve kissed in sports bras before, by circumstance, but when Christen tugged on Ali’s shirt and silently asked for permission, they took each other’s loose sleeping tee shirts off for the first time. Neither wore bras under them, and they gasped as their bare torsos rubbed against each other. Their mouths travelled down past their necks, and Ali sucks on Christen’s nipple while the taller girl whines under her. Ali watches Christen’s face as she kisses full her breast and down her abs, licking and nibbling. Christen then pins Ali to the bed, and kisses down her neck, across her collarbone, and then skips directly to her abs. She finally returns to her breasts, cupping them gently, and bringing her nipple into her mouth. Ali’s hand tangles into her hair, tugging her gently and pushing her breast into her mouth. They’re both worked up, but know that’s as far as it’ll go. They take turns mapping out each other’s upper bodies, Ali kissing Christen’s muscular shoulders and back, and Christen licking the tops of Ali’s hipbones. They eventually break apart, when they can’t control themselves any longer. They slide their shirts on, and cuddle up in bed. Ali is the big spoon tonight.

“Today was the most incredible day,” Christen remarks, kissing Ali’s hair.  
  
"It always is, when I'm with you." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!! I'm hoping people are still sticking with me on this story!!
> 
> I'm going to keep up the pattern of updating this once a week, simply because with my rigorous every other day update schedule for Home and my desire to keep writing oneshots, I just don't have the time to be more frequent with these updates. 
> 
> Thanks so much, and please let me know what you think!! Our gals are pretty cute on Insta, aren't they? :P


	4. Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olympic training begins and the gals grow closer than ever.

          Training for the Olympics is the best thing they've ever done, but it’s also the hardest. It’s the Olympic roster plus Becky, the alternate. Ali rooms with HAO, Christen with Becky, and Alex with Tobin. The girls are all really sweet about letting them have some alone time. They find that keeping professional at all times is work, especially when Christen takes a hard fall and Ali just wants to take her in her arms, kiss her, and see if she’s okay. Ali says she has to go to the bathroom, and instead goes to the training room to check on her girlfriend.   
  
“You okay?” She asks, hurriedly.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just rolled the ankle a bit. Go practice.” Ali smiles, and leans over to kiss her mouth once.

“Okay. Take care of it, babe.”

            Luckily, Christen is only out for about two days with the rolled ankle. Ali treats her like a princess, kicking Becky out of her room so that she can take care of Christen. Christen just laughs as Ali gets her set up with more ice and props her foot up on a pillow.

“I rolled my ankle, it’s really nothing.”

“You’re one of the best gymansts in the world, it isn’t nothing. You need to be back on this foot like, tomorrow. So I’m going to make sure you rest, ice, compress, and elevate, okay?” Ali demands. Christen nods.

“Only if you add cuddle to that,” Christen insists. Ali smiles, grabs a chocolate bar from her bag, and gets into the bed.

“You got chocolate?” Christen asks, in awe as Ali begins to unwrap it.

“Mhm. Pretty magical, aren’t I?”   
  
            Christen takes a part of the chocolate, and they eat in relative silence, just enjoying the closeness.

“I can’t believe camp will be over in a week,” Christen remarks.

“I can, I’m dying. Have you ever been worked this hard in your life?”

“Fair point. But I’m really going to miss you.”   
  
            Ali smiles, and leans her head on Christen’s shoulder.

“I’ll miss you too. So much. I’m just happy we will be together for your birthday.”

“I am too.” Ali kisses her gently, and Christen’s hand moves to cup her cheek as they deepen it, their tongues touching and their heart rates quickening.

“I’ve missed kissing you,” Ali admits, breaking the kiss and moving her mouth to Christen’s neck. They haven’t had much time to be alone and to really enjoy each other since they got to camp. When Ali thinks about it, the last time they had a steamy makeout was back when Christen came to visit her in February.

“Let me kiss you,” Christen says, a hand moving up Ali’s shirt. Ali smiles.

“Your ankle. You have to rest.” Christen pouts, but agrees. She doesn’t want to put off her healing because she was too horny to resist kissing her girlfriend. Three words are in the back of Ali’s mind, in all these close moments with Christen. _I love you._ Sometimes she has to actively bite them back. She doesn’t want to say it yet, as much as she feels it. She wants to say it at the right moment. A moment more romantic than a hotel room or a gym or a phone call. Sadly, those are the only moments she gets with Christen.

“I want us to have a night. Before we leave,” Ali remarks. It’ll be a challenge, around the training schedule, but she’s determined.

“I would love to. Maybe the last night? We could do dinner and a walk. I feel like I haven’t really spent time with you, one on one.”

“Sounds great.”

            The last night, Ali schedules a dinner reservation and they coordinate outfits. They didn’t exactly bring date clothes to camp with them, so Ali wears dark wash jeans and the nicest blouse she can find in her collection of stuff she brought. It’s black, sheer, and button down. She puts it on with black heels. She uses the word “coordinated” with Christen because her girlfriend also wears dark wash jeans, but wears a white long sleeve blouse and white heels. They’re quite proud of their semi-coordination, and Ali makes HAO take pictures of them.

_alikrieger: so excited for date night with this beautiful lady :) @christenpress_

_christenpress: when bae wears black and you wear white… we all know who the_ _angel in this relationship is ;) @alikrieger_

_alikrieger: ummmmm she’s not the devil. devil wears red ;)_

_christenpress: did you… just refer to yourself in the third person? @alikrieger_

            Dinner is incredible. They go to a small, local place, but it’s a nice to themselves, and they don’t need to worry about getting up early the next morning. They chat about training and about their plans for when they get home, and dread the amount of schoolwork they’ve missed and half-heartedly attempted to keep up with. They hold hands across the table, like the cheesy couple they are, and talk about how excited they are for Rio. It’s all about Rio these days.

            They’ll only be apart for a month, but it feels like that month will be forever. They have to go back to school, back to every day life. They walk around the small town, stopping in somewhere to get some pastries for dessert, and sitting down to eat them.

“Do you have plans? For after the Olympics?” Christen asks. Ali shrugs.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how I’ll feel, you know? I’m not sure if I really want to go another cycle. I don’t know for sure yet. Do you?”  
  
“No, I’m in the same boat. To be honest, I’m leaning towards taking a break, at the very least. Making sure I finish up school, thinking about college maybe.”

“Do you think you want to leave the gymnastic world completely?”

“Not soon. But maybe eventually. I’m not sure if it is really a viable option for the rest of my life.”

“Yeah. I get that.” They finish up their pastries, and Ali gets cannoli cream on her chin, which Christen finds the need to take a picture of. For the insta, of course.

_christenpress: when bae doesn’t know how to eat a cannoli :P #cutest @alikrieger_

Ali laughs when she sees it, and hits the like button.   
  
“You’re right, I am awfully cute,” Ali teases. They get up to leave, and Christen leans over to kiss her cheek. They start the walk back to the hotel, holding hands and walking slowly, trying to make the moment last forever.

“Do you ever worry about our future?” Ali asks, hesitant. “After Rio. With college coming up. We might be doing this whole long distance thing for another five years. Even then, how would we know we would end up in the same place? Are we stupid to think this can last?” Ali asks, looking down at the ground as she allows her fears to be vocalized.

“All we’ve ever known is distance. And yeah, it sucks. But I know we can do it. And think of it this way, we can’t be any farther from each other in college than we are now.” Ali laughs.

“True. I just wish we could be near each other.”

“Maybe we will. Pick, at the very least, a general area of the country for school. Maybe you’ll come out to Cali. Or I’ll go to the East coast. This relationship matters to me. There’s so many great schools out there, I’m sure we’ll find a way.”

“Yeah. I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

            They finally make it back to the hotel, the atmosphere a bit more somber than when the night started.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the night by bringing up the future,” Ali says as they walk into Christen’s room. “I just thought you deserved to hear my fears.” Christen holds Ali’s hand as they sit back on the bed together, and leans in to kiss her softly.

“You didn’t ruin anything. I’m so glad you shared that with me. I’ve been thinking the same thing. But we have to have faith in this. I care about you so much. I have faith in us.”

“I love you,” Ali admits. Her voice shakes, and so does her hand. She’s never told anyone she loves them before. She’s scared she won’t hear it in return. “I just, I need you to know that.”  
  
            Christen leans in and kisses her again, harder this time, a hand coming up to weave in her hair and hold them close as her tongue asks for permission. Ali opens her mouth, and the passion grows. Ali’s tongue explores the caverns of Christen’s mouth and strokes her own tongue, and in moments, they’re moaning into the kiss. It’s one of the hottest kisses Ali can remember them having, it’s passionate, deep, and slightly desperate. Christen whines into the kiss and Ali rakes her nails down her back, under her shirt, pausing to play with the back of her bra. They break away when they need air so badly they can’t think clearly, and they laugh against each other’s mouths as they pant and try to get their desire under control. Christen cups Ali’s cheek and smiles widely at her.

“I love you, too.”

            It’s surreal. Ali can barely think straight, overcome by excitement and joy and the thrill of the moment. The girl she loves also loves her. They’re going to the Olympics together. They lay together, and Ali wipes a stray, silent tear from Christen’s face as they cuddle up on the bed.

“I wish this moment could last forever,” Christen admits. Ali kisses her softly.

“So do I, beautiful.”

            They fall asleep like that, snuggled up, Christen’s head on Ali’s shoulder, Ali’s arm tightly around her, still in their jeans and tops from dinner. Christen wakes up in the middle of the night, and leaves soft kisses across Ali’s shoulder and collarbone before kissing her lips softly. It wakes Ali up, and she giggles.

“Yes, dear?” Ali teases, running a finger through the brunette locks in front of her.

“Nothing, my love. Just wanted to remind you that I love you.” Ali smiles widely, and leans down to kiss Christen. They get lost in each other, in the soft but passionate kisses, in hands roaming. Christen laughs when she places a hand on Ali’s jean clad thigh.

“Can we change?” Christen asks, getting up.

“Yeah, sleeping in jeans is not comfortable.” They both stand, but instead of taking off her own jeans, Ali reaches for Christen’s. She kisses down the column of her throat softly while she unbuttons and unzips her pants. She then slowly unbuttons her sheer white blouse, revealing a white bra. Ali finally kisses her mouth softly, hands on her bare torso.

“You’re beautiful,” Ali reminds her, before backing away and taking off her own clothes. Christen blushes as she pulls off the shirt and pants and reaches behind her to unsnap her bra. She pulls a tee shirt from her bag over her head, and when she turns around, Ali is standing there in just plain black boyshort underwear. Christen’s breath gets taken away from her as she stares at her body. Starting at her toned calves, up towards her powerful, thick, muscular calves. Her underwear sit so casually and low on her hips. Her tiny waist, defined abs, and small, bare breasts, nipples slightly hard from the cool air. She gulps audibly, her mouth watering as she finally meets Ali’s eyes.

“Like what you see?” Ali teases. Christen can’t even come up with something smart to say in reply, simply running her teeth along her bottom lip and trying to tear her eyes away.

“Why are you torturing me?” Christen asks, her voice low.

“I was going to ask for a shirt? To sleep in.”  
  
           Christen laughs, and reaches into her bag and grabs out an oversized tee shirt.

“I don’t know, you look pretty hot right now. Maybe I’ll make you sleep like that.”

“For some reason I think that would be more torturous for you than for me.”

“You make a good point,” Christen replies, handing over the shirt and staring at Ali’s abs for one last moment. They change, brush their teeth, and get in bed once more.

“Have you ever thought about sex?” Christen asks. It’s quiet and dark, all the lights out and Ali cuddled into her side. Ali laughs.   
  
“Like, in general, or?”

“With us, goofball.”

“Yeah. Of course. I want you to be my first, one day.”

“Same.”

\-----------------------------------

            Being apart for a month is even harder than it’s ever been. Their time together brought them closer, and made them realize how great life was when they were near each other. They’re busy as ever, both trying to finish up the school year and taking final exams on material they pretty much taught themselves. The time difference kills them. The best times for Ali to talk is in the morning, when it’s all of 4am in California, and at night, when Christen is in the middle of a gym session. By the time Christen gets home from gym, Ali is usually already asleep. It hurts her heart.

            Ali runs to the post office before practice on Saturday morning, and drops off a package to send to Christen. Her girlfriend gets it a few days later, and cries when she opens it. Inside there is an incredibly sweet, handwritten note, some prints of cute pictures of them, and some new lipsticks. She goes to call Ali, but realizes she’s in school, and settles for a text. She takes a picture of the package, to send Ali and post on Instagram.

_christenpress: missing my girl so much these past few weeks… will admit I cried when I opened this package. love you, @alikrieger._

_alikrieger: miss you too, beautiful. so much love <3 _

            Exam periods suck, and their frustrations spill over into school. They have Skype dates where they attempt to help each other with homework, and laugh when neither of them understands any of it.

“Looks like neither of us are going to college at this rate,” Christen teases. Ali laughs, but shakes her head simultaneously.

“Stop, you’re a closet genius and we all know it.”

“So are you, Krieger,” Christen retorts.   
  
“No, baby, you are a whole new level of genius,” Ali explains. Christen blushes deeply.

“You called me ‘baby’.”

“Is that… okay?” Ali asks, a bit hesitant.

“Yeah, it’s great.” Christen is beaming now, thrilled about the cute pet name. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Ali replies, reaching out to touch her face through the screen.

“Two more weeks until we are reunited,” Christen remarks.

“It’s two weeks too long, but I’ll take it.”

            The call is cut short because Ali needs to head to the gym for her afternoon session. They say goodbye, all smiles, to be strong for each other, while inside it hurts like nothing they’ve ever experienced. Just two more weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!!
> 
> Huge thank you to everyone who is sticking with my infrequent updates on this fic. I'm definitely going to continue with it, probably on this once per week schedule for now. I really love this fic and am so excited that people are still reading it!!!
> 
> Let me know what you think, please friends!!! :P


	5. Fabulous Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ali and Christen reunite, and the Olympics begins.

“EEEEEK!!!” Ali exclaims as she drops her bags and throws her body onto Christen’s. Christen manages to drop her own bags in time to catch her flying girlfriend, and Ali wraps her legs around Christen’s waist. Ali leans down to kiss her, and they smile against each other’s mouths, like they are in their own world, not a crowded airport.

“I’m so happy you’re here!” Christen exclaims, holding Ali’s thighs tightly. Ali senses that she’s probably a bit heavy, and eventually jumps down, but pulls Christen in for one more kiss.

            They ride in the van with HAO, Tobin, Becky, and Alex on the way to the hotel. They shove in the farthest back row, and Christen rests her head on Ali’s lap, exhausted from her cross country flight. The team was meeting in Florida, which was only a short flight for Ali, but Christen wasn’t so lucky. When they get to the hotel, they’re given their room assignments: Tobin with Christen, HAO with Becky, and Ali with Alex. Ali and Christen put their stuff down, and Tobin wordlessly lets them switch rooms for the few hours before dinner time. Ali makes her way to Christen’s room, and they snuggle up in her bed. She takes a silly selfie of the two of them, messy from their flights and absolutely exhausted.

_alikrieger: wouldn’t want to look like a messy dork with anyone else! so happy to be reunited with the beautiful @christenpress_

_christenpress: call yourself whatever you want, but I certainly am noT a messy_ _dork :P @alikrieger_

_alikrieger: the full formed knots in your hair say otherwise… and the stain on_ _your sweatshirt @christenpress_

            They decide to hop in the shower together, and just stare at each other lovingly as they clean off all the dirt from the airplanes and airports.   
  
“I can’t believe I’ve managed to see you naked on three separate occasions and I’m yet to jump your bones,” Christen remarks as they slide into some of Christen’s tee shirts and get into her bed together.

“I should be insulted,” Ali teases in reply. “It’s a pretty great body I have.”

“It is pretty great,” Christen says, more seriously this time, running her hands along Ali’s side.

“When do you think will be the right time for us?” Christen asks. “You know, to be us, to… move forward.”

“Um, hopefully after the Olympics. Maybe the night we win the Olympics,” Ali says, a smile on her face. “Wouldn’t that be a crazy first time?”

            Keeping their hands, eyes, and mouths to themselves becomes harder as the days wear on. Their deep emotional connection is one they are yearning to turn physical, and Ali doesn’t know how much longer she can handle the sexual tension for. She calls her brother, Kyle, up one day during a break. She sits down on the pavement outside of the practice gym, sipping from a bottle of water.

“I want to have sex,” she states simply. "With Christen." She hears choking sounds on the other end, and laughs.

“You what?” Kyle asks.

“You heard me,” Ali replies evenly. “Should I?”

“Um, wow,” he starts. “I guess my automatic reaction is no, since, you’re my baby sister. But you two have been together for a while now, and you’re seventeen, so, it’s up to you. If you do, just make sure you go slow, and you’re both on board and being attentive to each other’s needs and wants. First times can be really intimidating, and nerve racking, so use the trust you’ve built and be there for each other. Do I suggest you begin a sexual relationship during Olympic training? No. But afterwards? That’s your choice. I trust you, Alex, and as long as you trust yourself and you trust Christen, you guys will be fine,” Kyle tells her. Ali smiles.

“Thanks, that’s really helpful,” Ali replies. “I have to run back to practice, but thanks, really. I’ll talk to you soon.”

            Before Ali knows it, they’re on a plane to Rio. Kyle and her parents are joining them in a few days. She sits down next to Christen on the plane, who lets her have the window seat, and then leans her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“We’re Olympic athletes,” Ali states, excited. Christen kisses her hair.

“Yes, we are. And soon, we’ll be Olympic gold medalists, along with the rest of our team.”

            Ali rooms with Tobin and Christen rooms with Alex, leaving HAO to luck out somehow with her own room. They joke that they had to keep Christen and Ali in different rooms while still giving them roommates, and insist HAO ended up with her own room by seniority. Ali likes rooming with Tobin. She’s a bit messy, but she’s extremely kind and calm, and a nice presence to have around. The five of them go to team dinner and then split off from the staff to have a movie night in Ali and Tobin’s room. Christen snuggles up against Ali in her bed, and they kiss softly, hoping nobody notices. Alex snaps a picture of them, and it’s slightly dark, but they can still make out the forms of Christen and Ali, and the way Ali’s bottom lip is between Christen’s, the way Christen holds Ali’s face and Ali holds Christen’s hair. Ali laughs when she receives the picture, and asks Christen before putting it on Instagram. With the help of some bright Insta filter, Ali posts the adorable pic of them kissing.

_alikrieger: movie night with the team… I got slightly distracted by @christenpress_

_alexmorgan: slightly!?!? @alikrieger this was the state of you two for like five_ _minutes… while we were all in the room…._

_christenpress: what can I say, I’m pretty distracting @alikrieger @alexmorgan ;)_

            The press eventually get a hold of their budding relationship, and before anyone realizes it, Ali and Christen are the talk of the town. They ignore it, needing to stay focused on the competition, but the realization that their private Instagram photos are floating on the Internet is slightly unsettling.

“We knew that this would happen eventually,” Ali reasons. “We know, privacy settings are only so helpful, and we knew, when we posted those pictures, that they would get out eventually.”

“Yeah. It’s fine, really. I’m glad people know I love you. I just want the focus to be on the gymnastics,” Christen replies. Ali leans in to kiss her cheek.

“Same, baby.”

            The first day of the Olympic competition for the team is filled with pure excitement. The team events are first. The first day includes team vault and team bars. Ali and HAO will compete vault, and Alex and Christen will compete bars. Tobin serves as the team cheerleader and support for everyone for the day.

            Christen squeezes Ali’s hand in the locker room and sends her a wink. Ali leans in and kisses Christen’s cheek.

“You better get on that podium today,” Ali insists. Christen laughs.

“Only if you do, too.”

            HAO is first for the team on vault. She turns out a stellar performance, and everyone hugs her tight when she jumps down.   
  
“It’s not going to be enough,” HAO admits. She had landed a bit off center, and knew she was going to be penalized harshly for it. Her score is good, and they’re convinced she still has a chance at the podium. Ali is one of the final gymnasts to take the mats, and she takes a moment to breathe before she begins. She feels the breathe go through her, and knows she can do it. She takes off, and it’s all a blur, but then she lands, and sets her pose, a huge smile breaking out on her face. She killed it, and she knows it. She runs back to her team, and jumps onto Christen’s back. Everyone laughs and leans up to hug her, and Christen places her down.   
  
“What a fucking badass, Kriegs!” HAO calls. “Way to show me up!”

            Ali gets a personal record high score on vault, and ends up second. She wipes a stray tear from her eye as she takes the podium.

“The silver medal, with a score of 15.986, to Alexandra Krieger from the United States of America.”

      Her first Olympic medal. She had done well, she had started off the team’s Olympics with a bang. HAO ends up fifth, and she’s one of Ali’s biggest cheerleaders, with only Christen more enthusiastic. Christen wraps a firm arm around Ali’s waist when she returns, her medal around her neck.

“I’m so fucking proud of you, baby,” she whispers.

“Lets get you a gold one, okay?” Ali replies. Christen laughs, and with that, the team focus is shifted. Alex is the best in the world on bars, and everyone knows it. Christen is up first, and Ali is excited to see her girl take the bars. Christen is also a natural on them, and Ali feels like she gets overshadowed by Alex a lot. She knows Christen is on top of her game, and is anticipating she’ll put out a strong performance.

            However, she does not at all expect the caliber of performance Christen really does put out. Everyone is in shock when she dismounts perfectly after what had to have been the best routine anyone had ever seen her do. She jumps into Ali’s arms, and everyone is all over her, absolutely thrilled for their sweet teammate. Christen’s score reflects her performance, and she’s leading when Alex takes the bars.

            Alex is good. Alex is always good. It isn’t her absolute best performance, but it’s still great, and everyone is still thrilled. Her score puts her in third. There are three gymnasts left. Christen still leads. Everyone is happy with Alex's performance but Alex, who knows she could've been better. 

            In what is a bit of a heartbreaker, the final gymnast beats Alex out. But even Alex is still smiling widely, because Christen Press shocks the world, and wins a gold on bars. Ali leans in to kiss her cheek before the awards ceremony, unable to contain herself. They look at each other for a moment, their love being captured by one look, and then Christen is off.

“The gold medal goes to, with a score of 15.874, Christen Press from the United States of America!”

            Ali cries. Even harder than she’d cried for her medal. Real tears stream down her face. Christen won a gold medal. She proved to the world that she is absolutely world class.

“I love you so much,” Ali tells her, hanging off of her as they walk into the locker room. They wipe tears off of each other’s faces, and laugh. Ali hands Tobin her phone, and Tobin takes a pic of them and their medals.

_christenpress: today was an absolute dream come true, and it’s only just the beginning. so excited to have won an Olympic gold on team bars. proud of my entire team for some great performances today, especially the very talented @alikrieger who won silver on team vault. beam and floor, we’re coming for you! #usaforteamgold_

_alikrieger: I’m so proud…. I can’t tell you how proud I am @christenpress you_ _inspire me_

“Alright, team. Go back to your rooms, and get some sleep. I need all of you well rested and focused for tomorrow. This is just the beginning. Tomorrow we finish the team competition, and then individuals begin. Let’s save the celebration for when we win it all,” their coach tells them. They all know it’s true.

            Beam is Tobin’s expertise, and the only event in which she’ll compete. Christen will also compete beam. She is up first, and is a bit nervous.   
  
“Hey, just do your best, no expectations,” Ali reminds her girlfriend. Christen smiles and nods.

            Christen kills it. It’s by far, one of her best beam performances ever. Her score reflects it. She manages to stay well balanced, allowing her beautiful form to shine through as she navigates her challenging routine. It’s a great start to the day. Tobin is next. She’s calm before she goes, like she always is. Everyone has the utmost faith in her.

“Oh…. my god,” Ali says, simply, when Tobin finishes. The entire room is silent throughout her entire performance, amazed by her talent. Tobin lets out a simple smile when she is done, and everyone is momentarily in shock.

“Did she really… just do that?” Alex asks, before jumping into Tobin’s arms.

            Tobin wins, and they couldn’t be happier. She finally gets confirmation of what everyone there already knows: She’s the best there is.

“The gold medal, with a score of 16.321, is Tobin Heath of the United States of America!!!”

            Not to be outdone, Christen also slides into third. Ali makes sure she shows Christen plenty of attention. Winning a medal on beam is a huge accomplishment for Christen, and Ali knows it.

“The bronze medal, with a score of 15.645, goes to Christen Press from the United States of America!”

“You’ve gotta focus, Al,” Christen teases as Ali holds Christen’s bronze medal in her palm. Ali laughs.

“I will, I will.”

            Floor is last. The United States is in the lead, Russia trailing them, but not by much. Ali and HAO are both feeling the pressure as the last event begins. HAO is up first, yet again, and turns out a more than stellar performance. Ali congratulates her, and then spends some time just sitting down on the ground, getting her focus together. Christen sits next to her for a moment, and Ali smiles gratefully, Christen resting a hand on her knee.

“You’ve got this, Kriegs. This is your strength. You were born for this moment,” Christen tells her. Ali smiles.   
  
“I’m ready.”   

            And ready she is. She pulls it off, does exactly what she knows she needs to do to keep her team on top. Her performance is one of her best, and she finally lets herself smile when she sees her score, and realizes her team is going to win.

“In the team floor event. The gold medal, with a score of 16.002, is awarded to Alexandra Krieger from the United States of America!”

“The bronze medal, with a score of 15.734, Heather O’Reilly from the United States of America!”

            Ali and HAO get to stand on the podium together. Ali and Tobin walk out of the day with golds, and Christen and HAO with bronze medals. Alex is the only member of their team not to win an event medal in the team competition. However, the sweetest moment comes with the overall team awards.

“And the overall team gold is awarded to the United States of America!”

            The girls squish so close together, it’s almost impossible to tell where one begins and the other ends. Christen and Ali make sure they stand next to each other for the presentations. The way Christen looks at her, them both standing on the podium together, gold medals around their necks, is everything to Ali.  
  
            They're the fabulous five. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!!
> 
> I know, it's been a couple of weeks. I'm sorry my updates havent' been very frequent with this story, but I'm definitely still working on it!!! I love this story so much. 
> 
> Let me know what you think, and what your predictions may be for the individual competition! 
> 
> Thanks so much!!! :D


	6. Hers to Lose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The individual competition begins, and Ali and Christen grow impossibly closer.

            The individual competition doesn’t begin for three more days, so their coach allows them the night to celebrate the team win. They’re too young to go to a bar, but they all celebrate in Christen and Alex’s hotel room, playing music and drinking non-alcoholic drinks. Christen and Ali make out in the corner of the room, and Tobin, HAO, and Alex pretend they don’t see them. Christen and Tobin switch rooms for the night, so that Ali and Christen can stay together.

            Ali and Christen look at their collection of medals, and laugh. They’re only halfway through the Olympic competitions, and Ali already has two golds and silver, and Christen two golds and a bronze.

“We’re fucking superstars,” Ali remarks, stripping off her tight jeans and blouse to reveal a sports bra and boyshorts. Christen undresses as well, and pushes Ali back against the bed, kissing her soundly. Ali gently bites down on Christen’s bottom lip, and lets her hands roam across the bare sides above her.

“I love you,” Christen reminds Ali, who smiles against her mouth.

“I love you so much, beautiful. I’m so proud of you,” Ali reminds her, running a hand between their bodies, across Christen’s abs. “And I want you so badly.”

“Me too, baby. Me too,” Ali replies, running her fingers down Christen’s back. Christen smiles and rolls off Ali, not wanting things to get too heated. They lay down next to each other, and Christen reaches to tangle their hands together.

“This has been the best day of my life,” Christen admits.   
  
            The next three days is spent with their coach making sure everyone is focused and having each person practice the events they hadn’t performed in the team competition. Everyone was going to be competing in all of the events for the individual competition, so they needed to be sure that nobody felt too rusty. Ali spent three grueling days moving between bars and beam (but mostly beam if she’s being honest), and Christen spent most of her time on floor and vault. HAO, Ali, and Alex bitched about how horrible beam is and Tobin simply glared at them. Individual competition wasn’t Tobin’s strength, because she was so incredibly good at beam and nothing else could compare for her to that performance. The night before the individual competition, their coach pulled the five of them together in the locker room and gave her pep talk.

“Tomorrow is the beginning of the individual competition, but you guys are still a team. You need each other. I don’t want to see five competitors tomorrow, I want to see five teammates pushing each other and being there for each other. Lets get ourselves some more gold medals, okay?” Their coach tells them. They all agree. They aren’t the kind of teammates to turn on each other just because it was individual day. They love each other, and they know a win for one of them is a win for all of them.

            Day one of the individual competition is vault. Ali feels calmed by being able to start on one of her strongest events, but she can tell her girlfriend is a little nervous. She sits her down early that morning, and helps her tape up her ankle.

“You’ve been practicing so much, and you’ve gotten so much better,” Ali reminds Christen. “You are so much better than you give yourself credit for being. I have every bit of confidence that you’ll compete with the best of them.”

“You mean you?” Christen teases. Ali laughs.  
  
“Yeah, sure, me,” Ali replies, winking. Christen finishes off her tape job and helps Ali with her knee, just sitting with Ali’s remarks for a few minutes.

“I’m so proud to be yours, Ali,” Christen tells her. Ali smiles, the remark making her stomach jump. “I love you.”

“I love you too, my badass. Lets go show them how Americans vault,” Ali says, getting up and tapping Christen’s arm before heading back over to where the rest of her clothes are.

            HAO is first from team USA to take the stage for vault. After not having the performance she hoped for in the team competition, everyone knows she’s a bit nervous. This will be her last Olympic vault. Her last chance at one of her favorite events. Everyone gives her smiles of encouragement before she heads over, and she returns them, allowing the love of her teammates to help calm her nerves. She pulls off what everyone knows is an absolutely fantastic vault, and is practically in tears when she arrives back with her teammates.   
  
“You did it!” Ali exclaims, hugging one of her good friends close.

“Hey, hey, don’t say that quite yet,” HAO teases, knowing the biggest competition is yet to come, and some of it may be from the brunette standing across from her.

            Tobin is next up. Vault is her weakest event, but she puts out a solid performance. She laughs when she’s finished, a bit embarrassed, but Alex is sure to tell her how proud she is. Everyone tells her the score “isn’t bad” and that she’s “getting better”, much to Tobin’s amusement.

“You guys don’t have to be nice, I know this isn’t my strength,” she teases.

            Ali is next. Christen squeezes her hand before she goes. HAO is leading. They are still only a bit more than halfway through the competition, but even HAO’s score Ali knows will be tough to beat. She exhales loudly before she begins, her run powerful and straight, her jump high, her twists completed, and her landing smooth and centered. Ali knows it isn’t quite as smooth as her first vault in the team competition, but when she sees the huge smiles on her teammate’s faces, she knows she’s done well. She beats HAO’s score, but not by much, and her teammate is thrilled for her.

“You’re too nice to me,” Ali teases her friend, after the excitement has begun to die down. “You deserve this moment more than I do.”

            HAO laughs, and pus her arm around Ali.

“I have my Olympic medals. Being a good teammate and leader, to me, means making sure there’s someone better than I ever was to take my place. And that’s you, Kriegs. You deserve this moment. You’ve worked so hard. I’ve already had many moments. Now, I want to see you succeed, too,” HAO tells her. The comparisons between the two of them were plentiful, as they both excel at the same events. The “Is Ali Krieger the next Heather O’Reilly?” articles existed, but the girls had mostly ignored that between the two of them until now. Ali presses her face into HAO’s shoulder.

“You’re the best,” Ali replies. “We’re getting on that podium together.”

            Alex is fourth for team USA on vault. Vault isn’t her strongest, but she’s a great overall gymnast, and that includes being very solid on every event. Everyone has to admit, though, it isn’t her best performance.   
  
“Shit, I feel so bad for her, she’s having such a rough Olympics,” Tobin whispers to Christen with a sigh as Alex makes her way back over to them. They all put on their smiles and hug the slightly disappointed girl. Her score is good. Top half good. Not top ten good. And they all know it.

            Christen is first of the last three remaining gymnasts on vault. Ali can tell she’s a bit nervous, and she leans over to whisper a good luck in her ear. Christen smiles happily in reply. She makes her way up, and when she’s given the go ahead, she breaks out into her sprint. Her vault isn’t the hardest to perform, but she performs it exquisitely well, and everyone is happy for her. Nobody expects much of her vaults, and they’re all impressed, even Ali who wraps a firm arm around her waist as they await her score. It’s not as high as they hoped it would be, but they’re all still impressed. Christen did really well.

            Ali keeps her high score through the vault competition, but the Russian gymnast who won gold in the team vault slides into second, making HAO third. The teammates make their way to the podium, Christen beaming widely at Ali from afar.

“The bronze medal, with a score of 15.762, Heather O’Reilly from the United States of America!”

            HAO has her medal placed around her neck, and stands on the third place podium. The Russian player is second (and a bit sour about it, if her facial expression is any indication), and then it’s all Ali.

“The gold medal, with a score of 15.899, goes to Ali Krieger from the United States of America!”

            Ali takes the podium with a gold medal around her neck for the second (well, sort of third, if you count taking it with her teammates) time that week, and the rush of adrenaline is just as great as it was the first time. She cries again, a stray tear sliding down her face as Christen envelops her in her arms. They head back to the locker room, mostly silent as they take in how the day had gone. Fifty competitors in total, three on the podium, two representing team USA. In addition, Christen finished 16th, Alex 22nd, and Tobin 40th. It was a very solid first day of individual competition, but it was only just the beginning.

            The following day is the bars competition. Ali feels confident going into it, knowing that her bars performances have improved significantly over the past year, and excited to show off in front of the world. Starting out on top was simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. Right now, the competition was hers to lose. Ali and Christen help each other with tape and give each other pep talks, in what has begun to feel like their Olympic routine. The order is posted, and Tobin ends up not only being the first from team USA to compete, but the first overall. She laughs as they set up and get ready for competition. Everyone is glad it’s Tobin who has drawn first, knowing she’s the only one chill enough not to let it bother her.

            Tobin takes on the nerves that come with going first, and puts out a very solid, for her, bars performance. Her form isn’t the best and her routine not the most difficult, but it’s absolutely a solid performance, and she’s pretty happy with it. HAO is next, and she takes on bars with absolutely no fear. She doesn’t love bars, she knows she’s not the best at them, and she’s going to have fun. Ali admires that about her as she begins her performance, jumping up onto the bars and beginning her routine with a slight smile across her face.

            She performs well. She always does, HAO. Bars may not be her best event, but she puts out a performance she’s happy with, and everyone embraces their loving leader. Then it’s time for Alex. Tobin gives Alex some sort of pep talk before she goes, and everyone is a little nervous for her. They all know Alex is the best in the world on bars, and that missing the podium in the team competition was absolutely crushing for her. They knew she deserved to win. Or at least take the podium.

            Alex Morgan is a superstar on bars. It’s not just her impeccable form, extremely difficult routine, or perfect balance on landings, but it’s something about the passion in the way she performs bars. She’s absolutely amazing. She sticks her landing after the performance everyone had hoped she would give, and all of team USA finds themselves jumping up and down with excitement. Alex Morgan won’t be shown up. Her score reflects the performance she gave, and everyone knows she’s a shoe in for the gold. She holds Tobin close, thanking her and smiling widely at her, and HAO whispers a “is there something going on there?” in Ali’s ear.   
  
“Who knows,” Ali replies, a silly smile on her face as she watches the excitement between Alex and Tobin. It reminds her of herself and Christen.

            Ali is next up for team USA. She’s excited, more excited than she’s ever been for bars. She knows she needs to stay excited, and not let the nerves of being in the lead get to her. The Russian gymnast who had barely trailed her in vault had put out a great bars performance, and Ali knew the stakes were high. She makes sure her hands are chalked enough, just the way she likes them, and then she begins her routine. She slips into utter focus, the routine coming like second nature, keeping her legs and her toes perfect and making sure her jumps and timing are spot on. She pulls it off, and when she lands solidly, she smiles wide. She hears the impressed excitement of her teammates as she jumps down to meet them, and finds herself in the grip of her girlfriend.

“Well, well, someone wants to join the bars party, huh?” Christen teases. Ali smiles, and buries her face in Christen’s neck.

“Bring it home, baby,” Ali tells Christen.

            And bring it home Christen does. Her performance is good, ridiculously good, so good that everyone doubts for a second who is going to be standing at the top of the podium. Her score falls a bit below Alex’s, but not too much, putting her in second place. It’s exactly how it always was supposed to go. Ali finishes 6th on bars, HAO 24th, and Tobin 33rd.

“And the silver medal, with a score of 15.932, Christen Press from team USA!”

            Christen is given her medal and joins a Canadian team member on the podium. She makes eye contact with Ali, who winks and beams at her.

“And finally, the gold medal is awarded to Alex Morgan from the United States of America, with a score of 16.103!”

            Everyone is thrilled for Alex. Even Christen leans over to hug her teammate. If someone was going to beat her, she wanted it to be Alex. She knows how much Alex needed and deserved this. After the award presentation, they head back to the locker room to change out of their leotards and take all of the tape off their hands. Ali’s Russian competitor ends up finishing 5th on bars, and they are almost tied in scoring, Ali leading by 0.05. She knows that all of the pressure will be there on bars, and she’s already feeling herself get nervous. She’s just finished putting her hoodie on when she feels arms wrap around her from behind. She turns and smiles at her beautiful girlfriend.

“I’m so proud of you,” Ali remarks, touching the silver medal around her girlfriend’s neck. “You’ve been so good.”

“Well, my girlfriend is currently leading the entire competition, so I’m pretty proud of her, too,” Christen teases. Ali smiles and laughs, trying not to get nervous.

“Come hang out in my room for a while, lets talk about it?” Christen suggests. Ali nods gratefully. She knows that tomorrow is a mental battle. Not only is beam itself half a mental battle, but keeping her nerves in check and keeping her mindset focused and productive is going to be hard, and she knows it. It’s hers to lose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first half of the individual competition is over!! 
> 
> What do you guys think will happen in the last two events!?! Also how cute are Christen and Ali ? i love them so much. be still my kress heart. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think guys!! xox


	7. Wildest Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the final days of the individual competition are here.... and someone is walking away the individual women's gymnastics gold medalist

“You know, beam is all about inner peace,” Christen states, sitting across from Ali in their hotel room. Ali laughs.

“Maybe that’s why you’re one of the best in the world and I’m mediocre,” she jokes in reply. Christen smiles and puts a hand on Ali’s bare thigh, inches from the hem of her shorts.

“You’re also one of the best in the world. It’s all in your mind. If you let the stress of leading get to you, it’s not going to be your best performance. You should meditate with me in the morning. I know it’s not your thing, but I swear, for beam, it’s everything for me,” Christen explains. Ali nods. She’s willing to try anything that might keep her calm.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Ali replies. She leans in to kiss Christen, cupping her girlfriend’s face with her hands. “Do you think a little make out will calm my mind too?” She teases, her lips moving against Christens.

“Probably,” Christen replies, moving her free hand to Ali’s waist. Christen caresses Ali’s thigh and waist as their mouths move against each other. Ali runs her tongue along Christens bottom lip and their kiss grows hungry and passionate.

            Ali ends up on her back this time, Christen on top of her, kissing her deeply and caressing her side, one hand under her tank top and on her bare skin. They kiss until their lips are swollen and bright red and they can’t contain themselves anymore. Christen rolls off of Ali, and the breath heavily as they lie next to each other, hands intertwined.

“Lets do this thing,” Christen asserts.

“What thing?” Ali replies, a bit tired and dazed.

“Beam. Floor. The Olympics,” Christen starts.

“Oh. Yeah. Agreed.”

 

            Ali has never meditated before, and she’s doubtful that she’s doing it right, but she does find it relaxing nonetheless. Whether it was worth getting up early for, she’s not convinced. Christen is cute, at the very least, and that’s certainly a good way to start the day.

            Ali hates the beam. I mean, she actually kind of loves it, it’s a really unique experience, but she hates it because she’s historically not good at it. And she knows if she wants to hold on to her lead, or at least stay close enough in range that she can save herself on floor, that a lot is riding on this performance. Everything in the locker room feels like an out of body experience. She’s never really struggled with nerves, but somehow she knows this performance can make her break her gymnastics career and that’s a lot of pressure. She dresses, tapes, wraps, and puts on her warm up outfit. Before she knows it, they’re preparing to begin.

            Tobin is up first for the USA squad on beam. They all joke about how Tobin is going to show everyone how it’s done, because they know she will. It’s Tobin, after all. She was born for the beam. She’s simply fabulous. It’s not quite the performance she had in the team competition, but nobody doubts she’ll top the podium anyway. She’s so nonchalant when she comes off, like she didn’t just put in an Olympic gold worthy performance, and Ali has to laugh.

            Ali’s next. Christen makes sure she’s calm and ready, and Ali adopts a “whatever happens happens” mindset as she strips off her pants and warm up jacket. She takes the beam, and owns it like it’s hers. Her blind landing sticks, and Ali feels herself breathe a quick sigh of relief. Nothing could ever be scarier for Ali than a blind landing on the beam. It’s positively one of the best beam performances of her life, but she knows her routine isn’t the most difficult, and there is a ceiling as to how well she can do with it. However, she feels great after her feet hit the mats, and jogs back over to her team and into the arms of her girlfriend.

“You nailed it,” Christen assures her. Ali’s score is solid. Solid enough to keep her in the top ten for this event, she hopes. Maybe even solid enough to keep her on top, or in the top two.

            Alex is next. Also a natural on beam, everyone’s expectations are high. She had nailed it on bars the day before, showing everyone how capable she is. Her routine is harder than Ali’s, and she looks incredible until she stumbles a bit on one move, leaving a visible grimace on her face and her ankle smarting. She gets through the performance, which everyone has to admit, is still very impressive even with the little bobble, and Ali is actually surprised when Alex scores slightly lower than her.

“The ankle okay?” Tobin asks Alex, who nods.   
  
“I think so. I just need to ice it and rest it before tomorrow,” Alex replies. “Just landed funny.”

“I hate beam,” Ali remarks, and Christen laughs.

            HAO is up next. Beam has always been her weakest event, and she knows she’s not in the running for an individual award, so she tries to have fun with it. It’s not the best performance or her best performance, but she’s smiling when she lands, and that’s all that matters in the moment. She laughs it off when she sees her score will almost certainly land her in the bottom half of the crowd, tugging on her warm up jacket.

“Alright, Press, bring it home,” HAO teases. Ali kisses her girlfriend’s cheek as she prepares.

            Christen is a natural on a beam. Ali knows this, but she still thinks it every time she sees it. Her near-perfect form partnered with her difficult routine and seamless completion of it takes her breath away. Christen is the second-to-last in the event, and when she completes her routine, she’s given a score that places her in third. The chances either of the last two will beat her is so slim, and they all know it. Ali kisses her cheek once more, and taps her ass teasingly.

“You’re so good,” Ali remarks.

“Hm, you’re pretty darn good yourself.”

            Ali ends up seventh on beam, Alex eleventh, and HAO thirtieth. The Russian competitor of Ali’s is forth, and ends up edging her out in the overall standings, but it doesn’t discourage Ali, who knows she is more than capable of showing this girl up on floor. Tobin and Christen prepare to take the podium, and Ali, a very weak, very proud girlfriend, wraps her arms around Christen tightly and kisses the base of her neck.   
  
“Love you, baby,” Ali tells her.   
  
“Love you too,” Christen replies, turning to smile and look into her eyes.   
  
“Go get your medal.”

“And the bronze medal, with a score of 15.729, is awarded to Christen Press of the United States of America!”

            Christen looks damn good in a medal on a podium, and Ali knows it. She pulls out her phone, and takes a quick picture, before sending a cute face at her girlfriend.

“And the gold medal, once more on beam, Tobin Heath from the United States, with a score of 16.004!”

            Tobin belongs on the top of the beam podium. Something is just… so right about it. Alex is smiling like a schoolgirl. The two had become very close friends throughout the past year. After the ceremony, team USA takes a picture with their two medalists, and Ali is the first to put on it on Instagram, in true Ali fashion.

_alikrieger: amazing day in #Rio16! @tobinheath with the gold and my bae @christenpress with the bronze on beam! so proud of my incredible teammates! one more day #bringithome #USA_

_christenpress: @alikrieger bae huh? ;)_

           Ali gets up early the next morning to meditate again. Floor is her strength, her love, her number one, but she decides the extra time with Christen will probably help anyway. And she does need all the help she can get. At this point, Ali is standing second overall, Christen third, and Alex fifth. It’s absolutely thrilling. Everyone smiles a little wider. It’s the final day of competition. Ali is sad for it to be over, but at the same time, her turn can’t come fast enough. She’s so thoroughly excited to show the world what she’s made of, and prove that she is the best there is on floor. She knows she can do it. It’s so close she can taste it.

            Tobin is up first once again, and they have to laugh.

“It’s a conspiracy,” Tobin jokes. Tobin has already done exactly what she came here to do, win two gold medals on beam, and now it’s just fun for her. Tobin has fun on floor. Her technique isn’t perfect, her jumps not the highest, her routine not the most challenging, but it’s respectable, and Tobin seems like she’s genuinely having fun. She gets her score, laughs it off, and smiles widely to know that she’s done. She’s made it through five Olympic routines.

            Alex is next. Her ankle seems okay. She had been warming up on it earlier, and it seemed stable, but everyone can tell she’s a bit nervous about it.   
  
“I mean, if it, like, dies, it’s fine, because this is the last event,” Alex reasons.

“It won’t die. You’ll be fine,” Tobin assures her.     

            Luckily, Alex’s ankle doesn’t die. She doesn’t pull out her best performance, a bit timid, as they all assume she’s trying to protect the ankle or it’s hurting, but it’s good. Alex doesn’t seem happy when she steps off the mats, and she just has to huff at her scores, but they all get it. She did well, but not well enough to get her on the podium for the overall awards, and they all understand how she’s upset with herself and the ankle.

“Can you get me ice?” Alex asks Tobin. Tobin gets ice from the trainer.   
  
“Does it hurt?” Tobin asks, the trainer also coming over to check on her.

“Like a bitch.”

“Was it hurting before the routine?” Their trainer, Dawn, asks. Alex nods.

“You didn’t say anything,” Dawn points out.

“I didn’t want to psych myself out too much,” Alex insists.

            They all feel bad for Alex. The Russian girl who is leading pulls out an impressive floor performance, but Ali doesn’t let herself get nervous about it. It’s a good performance. It gets good scores. Ali knows she can do better. HAO is the next one up for floor, and it’s bittersweet. It’s her final Olympic performance. There’s a sense with everyone that this might be their first and last Olympics, but for HAO, it’s her second go around, and she knows it’s the last time. She does well, well enough to give her a shot at the podium, and Ali is so proud.

“You have taught me so much,” Ali whispers to HAO, hugging her tight.

“Go show them how it’s done, Kriegs,” HAO replies with a quick wink.

            Ali is next. She takes the mats with a smile and more confidence than she’s ever had before. She pushes off for her opening tumbling combination and it feels right. Everything feels right. High, tight, form, spacing. It’s all right. There’s a level of flare and energy in her performance that she almost doesn’t recognize in herself. It’s the best she’s ever felt, the music pumping through her veins, her movements second nature. Her final tumbling pass is as energetic and on point as her first, and the smile that breaks out onto her face when she sticks her final landing is absolutely radiant (and captured by photographers, of course).

            Her score comes in. 16.203. The highest floor score of the entire competition thus far. She slides into first overall. There are 12 gymnasts left to take the floor. Christen holds Ali so tightly it almost hurts.

“You can do it,” Ali asserts to Christen. She’s the final gymnast for team USA on floor, and everyone knows she has a very good shot at holding onto third.

“Floor isn’t… my thing,” Christen starts. Ali rolls her eyes.

“You’re fabulous. Have fun, and kill it,” Ali insists, before pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I know you can do it.”

            Floor isn’t Christens strength, but she’s impressive. It’s one of the best floor performances any of them have seen from her. She holds Ali’s hand tightly as they wait for her score. They know it could go either way at this point. When the number comes over the loudspeaker they all gasp. Christen is in third. There are four left to go, but it’s as good as settled. They’re going to share the overall podium.

            The floor results are the first to come out. Tobin finishes thirty-third, Alex seventeenth, Christen twelfth, HAO fifth, and Ali on top.

“The gold medal in the individual floor competition, with a score of 16.203, Ali Krieger from the United States of America! Congratulations to all of the medal winners!”

            Nothing feels as good as the top of the podium.

            Overall results have everyone on edge. When they come out, team USA is thrilled to realize that everyone in their squad ended up in the top half of the results. Tobin sat at twenty-seventh, HAO at twelfth, Alex at sixth, Christen third, and Ali first.

“The bronze medal overall for individual women’s gymnastics, with an overall combined score of 61.973, Christen Press from the United States of America!”

“And finally, the gold medal, the top individual women’s gymnast, totaling 63.224 points, is Ali Krieger from the United States of America!”

            Ali doesn’t start crying until the medal is around her neck, and she’s grabbing her girlfriend’s hand momentarily on her way to the tallest podium. Flowers in hand. Medal around her neck, and her girlfriend to her side. She’s won the gold overall medal at the Olympics. Her wildest, wildest dreams… achieved.

_alikrieger: tears of joy… I’m so honored to be a team and individual overall gold medalist for women’s gymnastics. this past week exceeded all of my wildest dreams. I couldn’t be more thankful for all of my talented teammates, and a special shoutout to the very beautiful @christenpress who won bronze individually. this is truly a dream come true._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey friends!!! i'm SO SORRY that i haven't updated this. my life has been chaotic and i've been struggling to keep up with my krash multi chapter. i see one more chapter and an epilogue coming for this story, hopefully in a timely manner! 
> 
> please comment and tell me how you feel about this chapter! and get hyped for the celebration! :) 
> 
> thank you so much, i really appreciate everyone who reads this fic :)


	8. All That Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ali and Christen finally take the next step. 
> 
> Mind the rating, y'all. This one is pretty much pure smut.

            Ali has dreamed about this moment, more times than she likes to admit. She’s dreamed about winning gold medals at the Olympics. She’s dreamed about winning for self and for country. She’s dreamed about standing on the podium with Christen. She’s dreamed about Christen jumping into her arms. She’s dreamed about the way she would break out in tears, the way they would kiss like they owned the world. But dreams, dreams couldn’t compare.

            She’s never felt anything like the adrenaline rush she feels when the medal is being placed around her neck. The way tears sting her eyes as she takes the podium. The way, that as soon as the cameras stop and they hop down, Christen leaps into her arms and kisses them, in the middle of the cameras, like nothing else matters. (Nothing else matters).

            Her and Christen have an arm wrapped around the other’s waist for entire rest of the evening. Yes, Ali wants to see everyone, wants to hug everyone, wants to thank everyone, but she really just wants to celebrate with her girlfriend. The team goes out to dinner with everyone’s families, and Ali’s dad makes a sly comment about how the two are holding hands under the dinner table.

            Alex, Tobin, and HAO find a party at another area of the Olympic Village to go to, but Ali and Christen head to a room. Everyone sends them winks and “have fun” comments, and they both blush.

“I always… I dreamed, of us ruling the world and then… tonight,” Christen starts as Ali shuts the door to her hotel room.

“Me too,” Ali replies. They had showered and changed before dinner, and at this point, Ali is wearing a pair of skin-tight light wash skinny jeans. Did people even wear light wash jeans anymore? Christen doesn’t know, but she does know they show off Ali’s thick, muscular thighs and rock hard calves, and when Ali turns around, her firm, round butt. Ali tops the outfit off with a loose black crop top that leaves this little strip of skin visible when Ali moves a certain way, and Christen is dying to have her way with her.

          Ali moves to lock the door, and Christen comes up behind her and wraps her arms around her waist, her hands resting on Ali’s firm abs under her shirt. Christen moves her mouth to Ali’s ear, nipping her earlobe gently before kissing the sensitive skin behind her ear.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” Christen whispers, her voice low. Ali audibly whimpers. Christen had always been sweet, but this was a whole new level of hot. Christen gently runs her nails across Ali’s abs, and Ali closes her eyes, thoroughly turned on. Christen moves to kiss down Ali’s neck, moving one hand to tease the button on Ali’s jeans, and the other to cup her breast over her sports bra. Ali melts into her embrace, resting her head back on Christens shoulder, exposing more of her neck. Christen smiles against her skin, moving her still damp long brunette locks out of her way and nibbling on the sensitive skin of her neck. She squeezes Ali’s breast gently with her right hand, massaging her hardening nipple through the fabric of her sports bra. Christen plays with the button on her jeans, and teases her fingers across the waistband until Ali is whimpering quietly in her ear.

            Suddenly, Ali flips the script, turning in her grasp and backing Christen into the nearest wall, before kissing her hungrily. Ali slides her thigh between Christens legs and kisses her with a desperate passion that leaves her breathless. Ali cups her cheek with one hand and holds the back of her head with the other, tugging gently on her hair and deepening their kiss. Christen whimpers into her mouth, holding firmly onto Ali’s hip with one hand and cupping her ass with the other.

“Fuck,” Christen mumbles, lips still moving against Ali’s lips.

“Who knew you had such a dirty mouth?” Ali teases, pushing her thigh against Christens center.  
  
“You’re going to learn a lot of things about my mouth tonight.”

            Ali smirked, a happy, surprised smirk, and took Christen’s bottom lip between her teeth gently tugging on it. She then runs her tongue along the lip soothingly, and Christen tugs on Ali’s shirt. Ali takes the hint, pulling away for a moment to pull off her crop top, and then helps Christen pull off her black sweater. Ali moves her hands to her girlfriend’s breasts, cupping them gently and marveling in how beautiful Christen is.

“Take it off,” Christen insists. Ali smiles, leaning in to kiss her gently before reaching behind her to unsnap her bra, letting it fall to the ground. “Yours too.”

            Ali obeyed, pulling the sports bra over her head, letting her small breasts and hard nipples free. Christen licks her lips, and Ali blushes. Ali steps towards Christen again, Christen’s back to the wall and Ali’s chest firmly pressed against hers, their bare breasts brushing. They kiss again, less desperate, but still passionate, hot, and deep, Christen holding Ali’s ass and Ali holding Christen’s face and hair once more.

“I want you so badly,” Ali admits, pressing her thigh between Christen’s once more, and pushing her hips into her girlfriend’s. Christen groans quietly into her mouth, and squeezes her ass in one hand and moves the other hand to rake her nails down her back gently. She feels Ali shiver against her, and moves her mouth to Ali’s ear, trailing kisses across her jawbone along the way.

“I’m going to make you cum so hard you forget how many gold medals you won,” Christen whispers, before taking her earlobe into her mouth and sucking on it. Ali runs a hand down to Christen’s leggings, and slides her hand under the fabric to grab her ass. Christen laughs once in her ear as Ali rubs up against her and squeezes her ass.

“Are you wet for me?” Christen asks. Ali pops the button on her own jeans and unzips them before grabbing Christen’s hand and guiding it into her pants, under the fabric of her jeans, allowing her to cup her wet center over her black panties. Christen lets out a little gasp as she feels how wet Ali is through her underwear, and she rubs her underwear against her for a moment, pushing the wet fabric against her clit, until Ali pulls her hand out. Ali tugs down Christen’s leggings, leaving them on the ground, and then she kisses her deeply once more.

“Get on the bed,” Ali insists. Christen complies, walking over to the bed and laying down on her back.  
  
“Take your pants off for me,” Christen commands. “Let me see those muscular legs and that amazing ass and that wet pussy.”

            Ali bites her lip, unbelievably horny. She knew sex with Christen was going to be amazing, but she never imagined the dirty mouth on her girlfriend, or how it would get to her. She pulls off her jeans, making sure to turn around so Christen can watch her “amazing” ass as she does so, and then saunters over to the bed. Ali straddles Christen’s thigh, placing her panty-clad center against her bare skin, and making Christen moan happily. Ali kisses her once before moving to her neck, kissing, nipping, and sucking on the sensitive skin. She bites down on Chrisen’s pulse point before soothing it with lick and kisses, loving the way Christen arched her neck into her mouth.

“Look at these beautiful breasts and nipples,” Ali remarks, trailing kisses across her collarbone and between the valley of her breasts. She nibbles on the underside of her breasts and sucks gently before taking a nipple into her mouth.

“Yes,” Christen says, weaving a hand in Ali’s hair, and arching her chest into Ali’s mouth. Ali rolls her tongue over the nipple, sighing happily against it and starting to grind herself on Christen’s thigh. She moves to the other nipple, wanting to give it equal attention, and groans around it as Christen reaches a hand around to grab her ass.

“Let me,” Christen starts, pushing Ali onto her back. “Let me explore you.”

            Ali can’t say no to that, so she rests on her back, and lets Christen straddle her hips. Christen’s center rubs against her pubic bone, and Ali can feel she’s wet through both Christen’s thong and Ali’s own underwear. She moans happily, and Christen hungrily dives right in to Ali’s breasts, biting and sucking on what is sure to end up being a dark purple bruise on her breast before finally showing her nipple the attention it deserves.

“You’re so wet,” Ali moans, pushing Christen’s face further into her breast and canting her hips up against her center.

“For you,” Christen replies, licking across her nipple and moving to the other. “I love your breasts,” she adds, nipping at her sensitive skin before sucking on her nipple. Ali’s eyes close and she whimpers quietly as Christen treats her nipple to a gentle sucking.

“Oh gosh,” Ali mumbles, pleasure pooling in her stomach. Christen releases her nipple with a nibble and a quick kiss, and starts to leave wet kisses down her abdomen, across her abs and over towards her hipbones. She bites down on Ali’s hipbone, and Ali pushes Christen back on the bed and climbs over her.

“Are you ready?” Ali asks, turning the temperature down and looking into her girlfriend’s eyes. Christen nods confidently.

“I want you,” Christen replies simply, and Ali leans down to kiss her lips before pulling off her black thong and spreading her legs.

“Hm, looks like you’re more than ready,” Ali teases, nibbling and licking the damp skin of her inner thighs.

“Ali,” Christen breathes out, placing her hand in Ali’s hair and directing her towards where she wants her. “Please.”

            Ali has a slight moment where she lets her nerves get to her, and she spends another moment nibbling on Christen’s thighs. She’s a bit worried that she’s not going to make her cum, that it’s not going to be good for her, and that she’s going to disappoint her. She thinks she knows what to do, what will make her feel good, but she’s never done it before and it all kind of hits her at once. Christen notices, and looks down at her questioningly.

“Are you okay?” Christen asks. “We don’t have to do this.”  
  
“No, no, I want to. I’m just worried that it won’t…. I won’t… be good,” Ali mumbles. Christen smiles, and tugs Ali up to her. They kiss softly and Christen takes Ali’s bottom lip into her mouth and sucks on it gently.

“Ali, sweetheart, it’s going to be amazing no matter what, okay? I’m already so ready for you. And let me tell you this, I’m feeling the same way. I’m so nervous that I won’t make you cum or that I’ll mess up. But I know it’s going to be great no matter what, okay?” Christen assures her. “I love you.”

            Ali smiles, and kisses Christen’s jaw line. She kisses gently down Christen’s body, between her breasts, and she spreads her legs once more, her fears squashed. She had thought about this and dreamed about this and she is finally going to experience it. She starts off just broadly swiping her tongue through her folds, eager to taste and pleasure her girlfriend. Christen holds on her hair more tightly, and Ali licks circles around her clit, before moving her mouth down to gather some of her arousal that spills out of her.

“Ali,” Christen moans out, low and quiet. “Yes, baby.”

            Ali explores with just her tongue for a little bit longer, lapping at her clit and devouring her pussy. She’s surprised by how much she loves it, by how much it turns her on, and she can feel her own arousal spilling down her thighs. She cups Christen’s ass with one hand, squeezing her gently as she holds her pussy up to her mouth. She brings a finger up to join her mouth, running it through her wet folds gently before pushing it into her entrance. Christen moans from above her, and Ali swirls her finger around for a moment before sliding in a second finger. She laps at her clit and gets a rhythm going with her fingers, until Christen is moaning consistently under her and canting her hips up into her face. Ali glances at the pleasure filled look on Christen’s face, her mouth slightly agape as Ali pushes her fingers against her most sensitive spots, and Ali can’t resist kissing her. She moves up her body, continuing to fuck her with her fingers, and kisses her deeply. They make out heavily, tongues touching and lips desperate for each other, and Ali hooks Christen’s legs around her waist, giving her better leverage to reach her fingers deep within her and push against her g spot.

“Oh god,” Christen mumbles against her lips, caught in the middle of a bruising kiss. “Ali, I’m close.”

            Ali bites down on Christen’s lip, before tugging it into her mouth and sucking on it soothingly. Christen whines under her, the feeling of her lip in Ali’s mouth, their breasts pressed against each other’s, Ali’s nipples dragging along her own, combined with the feeling of Ali’s fingers pumping into her driving her absolutely wild.

“Ali, I’m going to cum, Ali,” Christen says, muffled by Ali’s own lips. Ali unhooks her legs and moves back down her body, stopping to gently bite down on a nipple.

“I need you to cum on my tongue,” Ali demands. Christen groans, and Ali slides her now soaked fingers into her faster and deeper, making sure to push against the spot that makes Christen shiver with each thrust, and sucks her clit gently into her mouth. She continues her hard rhythm until suddenly Christen pulls on her hair and screams out that she’s coming. Ali fucks her through her orgasm, but she releases her clit and moves to suck and lick on other parts of her pussy, not wanting to over-stimulate her. She laps up all of the wetness that has spilled from her girlfriend, and kisses her clit once teasingly before finally moving away from between her girlfriend’s legs. Christen lazily tugs her up, and Ali lays down next to Christen on her side, leaning in to kiss her beautiful girl. Christen licks Ali’s lips and then smiles happily against them.

“Was it good?” Ali asks.

“It was mind blowing,” Christen replies. “How can I follow that up?”

“I’m sure you’ll do an incredible job,” Ali assures her. “I could come from almost anything at this point, anyway,” she teases. Christen reaches around Ali to grab her ass and pull down her panties before she tugs her on top of her. Ali laughs once, but then moans as Christen kisses her lips deeply and squeezes her ass.

“I love your ass,” Christen admits, continuing to be handsy with it. Ali grinds her wet center against Christen’s lower stomach, desperate for friction, and Christen bites her bottom lip gently, making her moan once more.

“Let me taste you, Al. Get on my face,” Christen demands. Christen’s lower stomach is soaked from Ali’s wet folds pressed against it, and she’s desperate to taste and pleasure Ali. She wants to see Ali cum.

            Ali positions herself over Christen’s face, slightly nervous. Christen keeps her firm hold on Ali’s ass, which makes her crack a smile as she looks down at her beautiful girlfriend.

“You said I was going to be learning a lot of things about your mouth,” Ali reminds her, as she holds the back of Christen’s head with one hand. Christen smiles and pulls Ali’s hips down to her mouth.

“Yep,” Christen replies easily, sucking on Ali’s soaked inner thighs. Her girl is more than ready, and she can no longer wait to taste her straight from the source. She starts to lick through her folds, and sucks gently on her pussy lip, causing Ali to mewl quietly and start to move her hips. Christen’s lips and chin are coating in Ali’s wetness immediately, with Ali grinding on her face and Christen desperate to pleasure her. Ali pushes her head gently and continues to lower herself more with each thrust, and Christen laps at her clit and tries her best to eat her out while she moves on top of her.

“Fuck, yes, baby,” Ali starts, moaning and pressing her pussy against Christen’s mouth. Christen happily reaches everywhere her tongue can, licking, sucking, and teasing. Ali starts to tug on her own nipple, and enjoys the way Christen holds her hips with one hand and kneads her ass with the other.

“I’m there, I’m so close,” Ali gets out between moans and pants, painting Christen’s face with how wet she is. She looks down into her eyes, holding her gaze intensely.

“Cum for me,” Christen mumbles, the vibrations of her words and her breath against her sensitive clit making pleasure build further. Christen sucks her clit into her mouth, arching her neck and laughing quietly against Ali’s pussy as Ali presses down hard on her mouth out of pleasure, and the vibrating of her laughter sends Ali over the edge, screaming her name and spilling out all over her. Christen’s eyes don’t leave Ali’s face, and she watches her beautiful girlfriend, head tossed back, eyes closed, mouth agape, filled with pleasure, coming undone. She lets Ali press her hips down haphazardly and out of control through her orgasm, and then helps Ali roll off of her and back onto the bed.

“Hey,” Christen starts, kissing Ali’s cheek. Ali licks her own lips and smiles, her eyes still closed. She wraps her arms around Christen, pulling her close.

“Don’t let this moment ever end,” Ali whispers. She opens her eyes, and kisses Christen, giggling against her lips at how wet Christen’s chin, nose, and face are.  
“I love you.”

“I love you too, beautiful,” Christen replies, snuggling into Ali’s side and resting her head on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry if I kind of suffocated you,” Ali starts. “But well, that was incredible.”  
  
“No suffocation occurred, you’re good,” Christen insists. She picks up a hand to run it across Ali’s hairline, pushing some hair behind her ear and looking up at her lovingly. They don’t need to say anything else, just sharing that loving look, is all they could’ve ever wanted. They stay there like that, Christen snuggled into Ali’s side, until Christen is dozing off, her head on Ali’s shoulder, arm wrapped around her bare waist.

“I can’t believe you have such a dirty mouth,” Ali remarks, and Christen giggles.

“You liked that, huh?”

“I really liked that,” Ali assures her, leaning down to kiss the top of Christen’s head. “Can you believe we waited so long to do this?”  
  
“Yes, but also no,” Christen replies. She’s still half-asleep, and Ali smiles down at her, and how cute she looks, cuddled into her side, eyes closed, words heavy with exhaustion.

“I love you,” Christen mumbles. “Now go to sleep.”

            Ali smiles, and kisses her head once more, before closing her own eyes. She doesn’t think she’ll be able to sleep, after what was positively the best day of her life. Her Olympic individual gold has yet to set in and she finally had mind-blowing sex with the most beautiful girl in the world. But somehow, the moment she closes her eyes, sleep overtakes her. Absolute peace and serenity overtakes her. She’s in the arms of the girl she loves. And it’s all that matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone!!! 
> 
> please let me know what you thought of this chapter!!
> 
> i see an epilogue ahead for this fic (with a nice little bow on the end of it). not sure exactly when it's coming but i dont want to leave it too long! 
> 
> thank you! :)


	9. epilogue: better half

**One Year Later**  
  
Olympic Gold Medalists & Iconic Lesbian Couple Take USC

            _The University of Southern California is no stranger to famous students, and among this year’s incoming freshman are 2016 Olympic gold medalist women’s gymnasts Christen Press and Ali Krieger. The twist? Press and Krieger’s relationship has gained publicity beyond their intentions. “To be honest, when we first started dating, nobody knew who we were,” Christen told us. “We just posted on social media as people who were nobodies. Then, a bit leading up to but really after the Olympics, it just exploded. It was definitely a bit overwhelming, and we’re much more private now that we know what kind of an audience we have, but it’s been nice to know that people look up to our relationship.”_

_“We definitely didn’t anticipate to become gay icons,” Ali said with a laugh. “I personally don’t label myself, and neither does Christen. And when we first started getting labeled as both being gay, it was slightly disconcerting. I was like ‘yes, I’m in this gay relationship, but I want to have control over how I’m labeled’. We both decided to be straightforward about it. We want people who are in similar circumstances to know it’s okay not to label yourself. You don’t need to partake in the system of labels.”_

_Another twist was that Krieger and Press grew up on opposite sides of the country- Krieger in Virginia and Press in California. “This is the first time in our relationship that we haven’t been long distance,” Ali told us with a smile. “It’s been really hard. We used to only see each other for gymnastics. But we had such rigorous training schedules that we would barely get the chance to speak during the week, plus the time difference. And this past year, we both decided to retire from gymnastics, and we barely saw each other for an entire year. It was a really tough time. But it’s been amazing, finally being together.”_

_“We didn’t exactly plan to go to the same school,” Christen added. “We knew we wanted the same geographic area. But it worked out with USC being a top choice for both of us and both of us getting in. When we knew we were going to be together come September… it was like the weight of the world was lifted.”_

_We did a round of quick fire q &a with the couple: _

_Q: Who was your gymnastics idol growing up?_

_AK: Abby Wambach_

_CP: Agreed. Abby Wambach_

_Q: Who, besides each other, are you closest to from the fabulous five?_

_AK: HAO (Heather O’Reilly)_

_CP: Tobin (Heath)_

_Q: Describe your Rio experience in one word_

_AK: Euphoric_

_CP: Surreal_

_Q: Funny quirk about the other person?_

_AK: She thinks she’s super grumpy in the morning, but she’s actually just sweet and mumbly._

_CP: You can’t describe me as mumbly. Anyway, I was going to say she mumbles a lot. Which she does._

_Q: How are you currently involved with gymnastics?_

_AK: We both have been helping out at the gym Christen grew up training with._

_CP: It’s been really great._

_Q: Goals for the future?_  
  
AK: I’m studying public relations, so I would love to get into PR in the context of young gymnasts. 

_CP: I’m a communications major, but I’m not totally sure. I think I definitely want to continue working in gymnastics somehow._

_Q: Favorite non-gymnastics memory together?_

_AK: Coming out to California to visit Christen for the first time. We weren’t yet a couple, we actually kissed for the first time that week. Anyway, one day we went to the beach and just played around and goofed off. I look forward to spending a lot more time at the beach now that we’re here together._

_CP: Ooh, okay, now I need to come up with a different one. Probably spring break last year, we got lucky and they lined up, so we ended up taking a bit of a joint vacation to New York with Ali’s older brother who goes to NYU. We did a lot of the touristy and romantic things and it was just so great to spend some time together._

“Where’s Pinoe?” Christen asks, rifling through Ali’s closet. She grabs out a fitted crop top and tosses it on Ali’s bed.

“I think she has some soccer thing tonight,” Ali replies. “Anyway, she’s apparently planning to stay with a teammate tonight.”

“And you’re not paying her?” Christen clarifies, tossing off her tee shirt and pulling on Ali’s fitted crop top.

“No, no paying included. I mean, I did offer to do her laundry for a month, but, that’s besides the point,” Ali insists.

“Wow, why are we going out at all then?” Christen asks. “I mean, when are we going to get a room to ourselves for a full night again?”

            Ali pulls on a pair of heels and then reaches for earrings, thinking about Christen’s question.

“I mean. Won’t JJ be home next weekend?” Ali asks.   
  
“Oh, yeah, you’re right. Then why did you agree to do her laundry for a month?” Christen asks. Ali just laughs, clasping her earrings and walking over to Christen, sliding her arms around her waist and pressing their foreheads together gently.   
  
“Because I want us to have sex somewhere where we know nobody is about to walk in on us,” Ali replies teasingly.

“Oh, you just want me for sex, don’t you?”

“Sex, and morning cuddles. Lots of morning cuddles. I know you don’t have class until noon tomorrow. We are going to be in that bed, cuddling, until eleven.”

“Hmm, I think I could like that plan,” Christen says with a smile, leaning in the last few inches to touch her lips to Ali’s. “Have I told you that you look beautiful yet tonight?”

“You have, like five times, and I’m not done getting ready yet, but please, feel free to continue saying that,” Ali replies. “You look beautiful as well. I love it when you wear my clothes,” she adds, playing with the hem of the crop top of hers Christen is wearing.

 

            It’s only October of their freshman year, but the past month had been some of the best times of their lives. The past year had been admittedly tough, with them both making the decision to retire from gymnastics and having to deal with being long distance. Ali will admit, there were a few days where she wasn’t sure her relationship was going to make it. They never fought, but sometimes, they just felt so alone. Finding times to talk was hard. Being together, and feeling like they were really together, was hard. Trying to cope with long distance while also trying to deal with the major slump that came along with the end of the Olympics and the decision not to continue gymnastics pushed them to their limits. Until the day in late March, when they both received acceptance letters to their top school, the University of Southern California.

 

“I love when you wear my clothes, too,” Christen says, pointedly. Ali kisses her once more, and gently rakes a finger across the bare skin of her back. They had fallen into a routine of exchanging clothes and wearing each other’s clothes, since they were about the same size and had somewhat similar style. Christen’s favorite pair of sweatpants had been “missing” for a few weeks, and she wasn’t even sad. She knew Ali had them.

“Lets get to this party so we can get home and eliminate clothes all together,” Ali suggests, with one last quick kiss to Christen’s lips.

 

            They had really made a point of making friends at USC. It’s why they had decided not to be roommates. They lived a few minutes walk from each other, and it worked well (except for the sex part). They both had become friends with their respective random roommates. Ali’s roommate, Pinoe, is on the soccer team, and keeps Ali laughing all the time. Christen’s roommate, JJ, is on the pom squad, and is an all around sweetheart. This party, however, is hosted by an upperclassman Christen had met through a class. He had made a few passes at her, before she told him she had a girlfriend, and since then, her and Adam had become friends. He had become their go-to for alcohol runs and good parties, since he always extended an invitation. It wasn’t until he met Ali at the dining hall one day that he realized who they are.   
  
“I thought you looked kind of like that girl,” Adam had told Christen. “But I figured I was wrong!”  
  
“Oh, so you recognize Ali, and not me?” Christen replied, with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t recognize her any more than you, I just recognized the two of you together,” he had explained. The eyebrow stayed raised.

“You recognized us for being a hot girl on girl couple and not for being the best gymnasts in the world?”

            He had laughed at her for that, and offered to buy them a handle to forget about it, and Ali had just sipped her water and watched the interaction. And ever since, they’d been great friends.

            When they get to the party, they grab a couple of beers and head over to find Adam and his roommates to say hi. All of his roommates had become friendly with the young duo. They had both embraced alcohol when they got to college, never having been able to drink in high school because of gymnastics. Fortunately, neither of them are the binge-drinking type, but they certainly enjoy getting a little drunk (especially Ali). Adam is already trashed, making out with some girl on the couch, so instead, they find themselves playing a round of beer pong against one of his roommates, Tyler, and Tyler’s girlfriend, Claire.

“Of course they have good hand-eye coordination,” Claire pouts. “They’re gymnasts.”

“We’re also not drunk,” Ali points out, sinking yet another ping pong ball into a cup.

Claire hands Ali her cup. “Drink up then.”

They end up staying a bit longer and drinking a bit more than they anticipated, but they each make some new friends, and around midnight, Christen finds Ali sitting on the steps to the house in some seemingly deep conversation with Adam. She slides behind Ali on the step, and Ali melts into her embrace.

“I can’t believe he thinks it’s okay to bring her here,” he complained. He was definitely still a bit drunk, but sober enough to be coherently upset.

“What’s going on?” Christen asks, planting a kiss to Ali’s hair.

“CJ is dating my ex,” Adam tells her. “He has her over all the time, invites her to all of our parties, everything. At first they were just hooking up, and I hoped it would end quickly, and then they became official so now it just totally sucks.”

“Yikes,” Christen replies, and Ali nods. “She here tonight?”

“Yeah,” he tells them. “They just went upstairs, so I came out here.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. You guys should go. Ali told me you have the room to yourselves tonight.”

“You’re okay?” Ali clarifies, leaning over to hug him.

“I’m okay. Thanks guys.”

 

            They make it back to Ali’s room, even with both of their feet hurting like hell after walking around in heels all night. “At least they make my ass look good,” Christen points out.

“Your ass always looks good,” Ali retorts, leaning down to take off her shoes.

“Thank you, babe, so does yours,” Christen teases, tossing her own shoes out of the way.

“I’m so excited to have a real bed to share,” Ali starts, moving to wrap her arms around Christen from behind.

“What, you don’t think sex in empty classrooms and hall showers is hot?”

“It’s certainly hot, but not very romantic. It’s not much of a bed, but it’s something,” Ali explains, nuzzling her face into Christen’s neck.

“We should book a hotel room or something for our two year,” Christen remarks. Their two year anniversary coming up, in just about a month, and they had been tossing around ideas for it for a while already.

“I like that plan. Nice, big bed. Maybe we’ll sneak in a bottle of champagne or something. We can do a nice dinner. Maybe a beach day,” Ali rambles between kisses, as she moves her mouth down her neck.

“Beach day for sure. We can go to the beach near my house, if you want. The one we went to when you first visited,” Christen suggests.   
  
“That’s what I call romantic,” Ali replies, turning Christen’s face towards her to kiss her deeply. Their hands roam over each other’s bodies as their need for each other grows. “Let me fuck you until you forget your name,” Ali adds, her voice low, as she slides her hands into the back of Christen’s pants, cupping her ass.

 

_christenpress: fun night out with the bae @alikrieger. love her to the moon_

_alikrieger: my better half…._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, what can i say? thank you guys so much for coming on this journey with me. i've loved writing this, and bringing a little bit of kress into everyone's lives :) 
> 
> let me know if you like the epilogue and this story as a whole. you're the best :)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! Thanks so much for reading!! Let me know what you think of the first chapter, and if you have any thoughts/ predictions. 
> 
> Also, please come hit me up on tumblr: captain-kriegy.tumblr.com, to talk about the game, Kress, Krash, or just Ali in general.


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